Emily Collins, a secretary in Trenton Catholic Academy’s Upper School, speaks as if she’s comfortable in an orange fluorescent vest waving flags at passing drivers.

“It’s go, go, go,” she said as she described a typical day in the front office of the Hamilton Catholic school. “I direct traffic. There is a routine, but many streets come down the pike. It’s always changing.”

Collins continued, “Some people come in distorted. I try to settle them down and find out what they need. I try to make it like home, coming into the office, give them a pleasant experience.”

She noted, “A person has to have a calling for their job. Not everyone is suited to this. Your most important assets are good humor and patience.”

Collins was modest about her contributions to the school, simply saying, “It’s rewarding to help people. How am I valuable? Well, you’d have to ask the people I work with.”

Sister of St. Joseph Dorothy Payne, TCA president, was all too eager to list the valuable ways in which Collins served the many students, staff, parents and visitors who entered the school looking for assistance or merely a sympathetic ear.

“She does a fine job. People like Emily are the face of the school. They must be polite, cordial, and a good listener to hear what people are saying beyond what they are saying,” Sister Dorothy said. “She has a keen sense of awareness and responsive to each individual, and understands their basic needs.”

Noting Collins “does a wide variety of things, a multiplicity of jobs,” Sister Dorothy stated that her entire secretarial staff “are the unsung heroes of the school, basically. Anyone in that position has to take the grief. They are the first line of defense.”