Michelle Neese is in her first school year as Tippecanoe Valley High School’s secretary. She volunteered with the secretary’s office as a Valley student in the 1990s. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

AKRON — Michelle Neese first worked with the Tippecanoe Valley High School secretary’s office as a TVHS student in the 1990s.

Now she is secretary herself.

Neese, Warsaw, is in her first school year as TVHS secretary.

She is a 1996 Valley grad, volunteering for three years as a high school student under then-secretary Diane Sheetz.

“She was very instrumental in developing that whole aspect of me wanting to work in the offices and the importance of a friendly face and a loving individual in the office,” said Neese. “She created a professionalism in the work environment as well.”

After graduation, Neese got her associate degree in music from Central Bible College in Springfield, Mo.

She and her husband, Ryan Neese, then traveled around doing music ministry for a time before returning to the area when they had their children, Kaitlin and Dylan.

Neese’s first professional role with the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. came at Tippecanoe Valley Middle School after she had been a church secretary and employed at a preschool.

“(A) middle school position came open in special ed and then I ended up actually moving to another position in sixth grade to where I was a (paraprofessional), and I did that for seven years … and I loved it,” she said.

She moved over to the high school following the retirement of secretary Christine Tinkey.

Neese said the job has been “a distraction” for her with her children now adults. Kaitlin is in her second year of studying digital communications at Grace College, and Dylan is a freshman studying computer science and playing tennis at Huntington University.

“It’s ironic because now I don’t have kids in the building … (but) a lot of the students know me because working at the middle school as long as I did I’m a familiar face to a lot of them, which is really easy for me and comforting for them,” said Neese.

She called being secretary “a multitasking position that involves keeping a level head” as she greets people, answers the phone, helps decide whom to let in the building and does announcements.

Neese has made the front office her own with a few of her more than 100 houseplants.

Her “plant obsession” is linked to her time with her high school agriculture teacher Lisa Paxton, whom she dubbed her “favorite teacher.”

Neese said she’s enjoys her interactions with fellow staff members whom she says are like “family,” as well as with the students.

“I think sometimes because I have that relationship with them, I’m able to set aside the secretarial position and then just be the staff member that’s there to offer them advice or just give them a comforting moment if they need that during the day,” she said of her relationship with students. “I want to leave a positive note when I leave a room. I want kids to feel warm and loved when they leave my presence. That’s my goal.”

“I’m just thankful and blessed to be here at the school and now I’m seeing a different side of the school … to transition from being a student to a parent to now a staff member. So it’s been great,” Neese added.