Paula Baker Thomas: August 2016 Employee of the Month
Paula Baker Thomas has been Young Women's College Preparatory Academy’s administrative assistant since the school opened in 2011. During that time, she’s watched the students on her campus grow up in front of her eyes.
Thomas, who’s also been at HISD since 1998, developed special connections with many students and their families. And throughout her time at YWCPA, those connections have led her help the campus community in extraordinary ways, such as buying school uniforms for some students and donating toys and Thanksgiving items to families during the holiday season.
“I’m a people person,” she said. “I enjoy helping people. When you’re around these students as much as I am, you learn about them. You find out some are homeless, so you want to do whatever you can for them.”
Although her official title is administrative assistant, Thomas said she’s also served as an unofficial nurse when the school didn’t have a full-time nurse on campus. She’s helped with everything from minor medical issues to making sure students take their medicine.
“I think they see me on a daily basis, so they feel comfortable with me,” she said. “They know me, and I know them.”
YWCPA Principal Delsa O’Dell Thomas said her administrative assistant fills a variety of roles on campus and never hesitates to stay late in order to ensure all her work – along with her extra duties – is completed.
“For years we had no clerks or aides and she was ‘it’. She always go above and beyond her scope of work to help the adults and students at YWCPA,” the principal said. “She has a giving heart and cares for the students we serve and their families. It can be very demanding working in a small school that is high profile, but she handles her duties and then some like a champ.”