For Stacy Pickett, working in the print shop at LCM is more than just making copies for teachers. It’s also about brightening people’s days and helping them out as much as she can.

After a year and a half of working in the print shop, Pickett will soon leave to start a new position as a 504 clerk in the district.

Pickett said she was very content working in the print shop, but also wanted to learn more about what the 504 Clerk position entailed. She said that it was an area that she has not worked before and that the more knowledge that she can receive in her career, the more valuable she will be to those she works for.

“I’m very excited to learn more about the 504 program and meet new people within the LCM school district,” Pickett said.

A typical day for Pickett revolves around filling up the copiers with paper, walking to the front office to check the print shop box for any requests that need to be copied, and then covering the receptionist post in the front office after her lunch. After that, she goes back to the print shop to make more copies and fill up the copier with paper one last time so it will be ready for the following day.

Pickett moved from North Carolina last year due to her husband’s job and feels the Lord opened the door for her and her family to find their new home in Orange.

“All of our family and friends are there, but we have met some really great people here and the life that my family has here now is great,” she said. “There are so many more opportunities here than we had in North Carolina.”

According to Pickett, her favorite part of working at LCM is getting to interact with the staff and students.

“At my first convocation, sweet Mrs. Hennigan included me in the activity that was taking place,” she said. “Mrs. Stacey Smith goes above and beyond to make things exciting for the staff and students with the different activities that she has planned throughout the school year.”

Pickett recalls some of her favorite memories at LCM as going to lunch with the “Golden Girls” and receiving hugs and condolences from staff members when returning back to work after losing a family member. She has also felt the love with her coworkers in other ways, such as being nominated as “Employee of the Month” in November.

“The good thing about memories is that with each new day, you are allowed to make more of them,” Pickett said. “I would like to say ‘thank you’ to everyone for making the new girl feel so welcome and accepted at LCMHS.”

Even though some may consider him the “new” guy on campus, Dana Cruce is definitely no stranger to LCM High School. He has been working in the counselor’s office since January, but is only a temporary fill-in since the retirement of counselor Jackie Bradley.
“I retired from here ten years ago and then Mrs. Bradley took this office,” Cruce said. “She recently retired so they just asked me to fill in until June. I’ll be gone after this year and retiring again.”
A big part of leaving and returning later on is realizing that things change. For Cruce, the changes are definitely not with the atmosphere, but with the people.
“The teachers have obviously changed in the ten years that I’ve been gone,” he said. “Many of those that I worked with retired or have moved to other jobs, but there are a few still here. I miss some of the folks that I worked with earlier but they’ve gone on to do better things and enjoy their retirement. The computer system is completely different so I had to start all over learning that, but I’ve enjoyed it.”
Cruce has a Bachelor’s Degree in Choral Music and a Masters’ degree in Administration and Supervision.

“I got that first because I thought I wanted to be a principal, but I decided that principals deal with a lot of students who are misbehaving, parents who aren’t happy, teachers who sometimes don’t do what they’re supposed to do, and that didn’t sound like a fun job to me,” Cruce said. “So I went back and got a Masters’ in Guidance and Counseling.”
After getting his Bachelor’s, Cruce taught choir at West Orange-Stark High School for about 12 years before becoming a counselor. Upon realizing that he wanted to continue his career in education as a counselor, he went back to college for his Master’s.

“I’ve been in education for 40 years, some of that teaching in the classroom and the rest of the time a counselor at WO-S and LCM,” he said. “I think I like helping [students] plan a future. Even though they’re not sometimes sure what that future will be, I enjoy helping them.”