Betty Guidry: November 2016 Employee of the Month
After being laid off from her job at an insurance company in 2012, Betty Guidry wasn’t sure where her next career move would take her.
So when a clerk position at Carnegie Vanguard High School became available, Guidry said she applied because the skillset fit her background. Little did she know that she would end up loving her job and the kids she helps each day.
“I just have that attitude of you wake up every morning, and you’re blessed to be where you are,” said Guidry, HISD’s Employee of the Month for November 2016. “The (students) are fun, they’re fun to be around. It’s refreshing for me.”
Veronica Chapman, CVHS registrar and college coordinator, nominated Guidry because she’s always willing to pick up extra duties around the school that fall out of her normal scope of work. And she does it with enthusiasm and a warm smile.
“Betty loves the kids and the kids love Betty,” Chapman said. “Our Counseling/College Center is likely one of the busiest centers in HISD with the active parent involvement, the enormous amount of colleges that come to our school to recruit and the inquisitive nature of all our students. Our center runs efficiently because of Betty. She is the back up for almost every one on campus, yet no one is her back up.”
Guidry said her welcoming nature comes naturally, and she knows the power of a friendly smile
“It sets the tone for the day,” she said. “Saying ‘good morning’ may change someone’s day, not only at school or work, but just in life.”
And now that’s she’s been in an education setting for a few years, she’s interested in furthering her own education after being inspired by the work of the students she supports
“It’s rewarding. They’re teaching me that anything is possible,” Guidry said. “I really want to go back to school. Working in the counseling office, I see the schools and what’s available if I were to go back to school. If I look back 32 years, I may have become a teacher instead.”