Gaye Morgan

I would say to get your degree in office education, so that you can do the job without having to depend on other people. When I went in for the second job at Spearman, I had to depend on a couple of ladies from the district office, because I didn't know what I was doing. I was flying by the seat of my pants. But they were so helpful, because they had banking experience, and so they were helpful in how to do a bank statement. I think that young women going into this really need the education, the clerical part of the job, and also to have a good sense of doing business. When you do business, you shake hands with people, let them know that you see them. You have to look at them in the face, and shake their hand and make it mean something, because if you give a little squeeze, that doesn't mean anything to me. I'm all for the hearty handshake when I'm meeting people. And then, always be honest about everything. That is so important. We don't have that now. We've got a lot of people saying, well, I didn't do anything, and yet they did. It just goes against everything I've ever been taught.

In the education field, it's probably the combination of people feeling like they're entitled. I know that we had some parents that would say, well, my child wouldn't do that, and it had to be the other child. I have always said, if your child, you say your child won't do it, they definitely will, because mine has done it. Especially my son, who would have said, oh no, he would never do anything. Oh, yes, he would, too. And then children actually feel entitled because they get everything. They get instant gratification. If they whine long enough, they're gonna get it. I told mine, I said, well, if you whine long enough, you're gonna get it, but you aren't gonna want it. The women that are taking on these roles, they want to do a good job, and so we need to make sure that they know that they're supported. When you micromanage everything, then you're not getting what you deserve out of that employee. You're not allowing them to work in their fullest capacity.

First of all, to be honest. And not take anything that isn't yours. I've always stressed that whenever I was working with money. My goal was to be as truthful as I could be, and not to take anything that wasn't mine. There's a lot of people been accused of taking money from different organizations, and I'm thinking that's not my money. My money is in my bank, and it's safe, and I don't have to worry about what I need, but this is the school's money, and I am not going to do anything that's going to jeopardize that. So that was my very thought from the beginning. And then, just be a friend. Be an encourager. I was always encouraging the nurse, because she'd come in sometimes in my office and just go, because of the kids that were sick, or medications that she had to give, and it was a stressful journey for her, so I was there to encourage her and help her when she got busy.