Even when giving out a tardy pass, the Naperville North campus supervisors never fail to make your day.
The 11 campus supervisors at Naperville North High School have undeniably played a key role in shaping NNHS culture. Through monitoring absences and tardies, safely letting visitors enter the building and always being on watch for untamed behavior, they always have to stay observant. However, finding a balance between maintaining optimal safety and staying positive isn’t always easy, yet these extraordinary campus supervisors manage to do so.
In this complex role, maintaining safety and security for Naperville North requires an immense amount of energy from these faculty members. NNHS campus supervisor Monique Vega highlights how both she and her colleagues take extreme care to be aware within and around the building.
“Our priority is the safety and security of the building. Being vigilant and being aware really takes [what] we learned from like the active shooter scenarios,” Vega said.
Along with the crucial responsibility of protecting NNHS staff and students from both external and internal danger, campus supervisors have the opportunity to make impactful and meaningful connections with students, which Vega states is a necessary part of her role. Vega believes it is imperative that students are viewed by staff members as not only students, but as unique individuals. She encourages others to take the initiative to assist students in maximizing their potential and avoiding the pitfalls of student life.
“I reflect on my own time in high school. I wasn’t the student who made the right choices often. I try to hang onto that … I always try to maintain that mom persona where I’m going to be stern. I will scold you if necessary, kind of tell you how it is in that mom role, but I will also retain that reflection of how I was a high schooler,” Vega said.
Jeff Runge, another campus supervisor at NNHS, emphasizes the importance of serving as a friendly figure who can notify students about why the little intricacies of the mistakes that they make in high school have potential to become bad habits if they aren’t actively trying to fix them.
“It’s a school setting, but it does translate to real life, ” Runge said. “Kind of get them thinking into the future.”
Additionally, the supervisors not only ensure the security of staff and students, but are agents of positive change who inspire healthy behavior and decision-making among students. Campus supervisor Jake Day believes wise input from staff members will guide students in the right direction for their future choices.
“I think it’s just kind of being a good role model to the students … trying to set an example of what it means to just have interpersonal relationships, communication contacts; stuff like that. Genuinely, I think that the impact comes from showing kids that we actually care,” Day said.
Runge understands that with the importance of his job, students may not fully understand just how severe the issue of safety is.
“I really want them to understand that everything we do is for a reason. It’s not just for making stuff up,” Runge said.
Similarly, students view campus supervisors not only as those who speak to them about their absences, but as role models and individuals who genuinely care about them, as these faculty members have acquired years of life experience that makes them easy to communicate with and relate to. Day hopes students will start learning from their own experiences and find their voice.
“Advocate and stand up for yourself. It’s important that you communicate how you feel, or you communicate what’s going on, or you talk to your friends, whatever the case may be … it really helps maintain a positive community environment that we’re being open with communication and each other and also sharing what’s going on in our lives,” Day said.
Next time a student is struggling or needs a second opinion, Vega encourages them to reach, emphasizing that their job extends past distributing a tardy pass or helping you scan back into school.
“If a student needs someone to talk with, I am more than happy to be someone they can come to,” Vega said.
