After Tami Burton’s retirement as Head Secretary, that left the door open for a new staff member to take her place. Former CHS Assistant Principal Secretary, Emily Aleman, gladly took this into her hands as a new responsibility and next step in her career. 

Aleman is a CHS graduate herself, graduating in 2008. After high school she went to Brigham Young University, double majoring in English and Theater Education. She also has a four-year-old daughter named Ruby 

Before coming to work at CHS full-time she has been working as the Tech Director for the drama department, and she’s been doing that for about 9 years. “I’ve been working closely with [Kellie] McCarty before I came into the main office…. McCarty called me after I graduated college and she asked if I wanted to come and help with her production…. I’m a huge advocate for the department and everything it stands for so I came and started doing that,” said Aleman. She was also working for an auto auction before coming back to CHS. Aleman said, “I was working at an auto auction for a decade before that, so I was working with car dealers and sales.” But she also mentions that she didn’t care all too much for the environment in that industry and wanted to work in an environment that she cared for. 

Aleman has been working at the CHS since 2019, starting off as the Assistant Principal Secretary, before switching over to Head Secretary this year. She mentioned that as Head Secretary she assists administration with anything they throw her way, but she also does purchasing for the school and takes care of everybody’s calendars, among other tasks. Though Aleman’s job title has changed, she said that a lot of things she was previously doing as Assistant Principal, she is doing now as Head Secretary, so she found it to be a natural next step. 

Burton helped Aleman prepare for the transition. “I worked closely with Tami Burton, [now] Tami Green, who was the Head Secretary who just retired and so she kind of… knew that maybe she’d be retiring this year and wanted to show me the ropes a little bit,” said Aleman. “So I was close to her up until she retired, and learned as much as I possibly could.”

Though this change seemed like an obvious transition for Aleman she said that she was nervous about it as well. “Especially with hybrid [learning] coming up and all the questions that all the staff and families have about changes and things being different every hour. With all of that it’s a little bit nerve-wracking,” said Aleman. 

Aleman explained that though the transition itself didn’t take very long, it is taking her a while to get fully situated into her new position. “I’m still sitting at my old desk, it’s taking me a little bit just because there’s so much work coming in,” said Aleman. “Sometimes it’s hard to navigate through it just in order to physically move desks. But the actual transition itself didn’t take long because of short staffing and [Tami Burton] retiring early.”

Due to the pandemic, Aleman mentioned that front office staff just came back to in person work a little over a month ago, with limited staff and no students, and that the school has been really quiet and the work they do isn’t as fast-paced. “It’s just been really quiet and it’s going to be a breath of fresh air to hear voices again. Just to hear people in the hallways and the hustle and bustle, it will be so nice to get that again,” said Aleman. 

Like many other CHS teachers and staff, Aleman puts an emphasis on the incredible people who make the school what it is. Aleman said, “I mean, Trish, Destiny, Lena, everybody up here in the front office, as well as the administration team, have all just been so welcoming… and their patience with me has been astounding.” She continued to say that all CHS staff are teachers at heart, inside and outside of the classroom, and they care deeply about education and creating a great atmosphere for all students. “It’s honestly an honor to be a part of that team period… and being able to wake up every morning and knowing you’re making a difference… it’s been really good,” said Aleman.

All things considered, Aleman hopes to stay true to this goal: “My main purpose and goal in this position, long term and short term, is to simply keep everyone functioning. I want them to do all the important things they need to do in order to keep the school afloat and I am just there as their resource for sanity, for clerical work, or whatever it is that day. I am there to help them succeed. That would be my goal now until I retire.”