The front office is full of energy, creating a lively community for students, teachers and parents. Sunlight regularly streams through the large windows, illuminating the friendly faces of the staff. Meet the front office staff, the heartbeat of our school, those keeping everything running smoothly and ensuring that everyone feels welcome.
Carrie Anderson: Receptionist
Receptionist Carrie Anderson has been working in IUSD for 15 years now. She has also worked at four other schools in the district. A distinguishing characteristic of Portola High has been the students, who are Anderson’s favorite part of her job, according to Anderson.
“The amount of people sometimes is very overwhelming,” Anderson said. “We can definitely feel our growth this year, and that has increased the number of phone calls, it has increased the enrollment and it has increased people coming in the office.”
Christina Sanchez: Administrative Assistant
Administrative Assistant Christina Sanchez plays a vital role in supporting Principal John Pehrson. Since working on the founding of Portola High, Sanchez fulfills the role of greeting students and teachers as they enter, paying school bills and helping Pehrson with tasks such as answering questions.
“It’s been a great nine years now, and we’re gonna have our 10th year anniversary next year,” Sanchez said. “We’re gonna do some fun stuff next year.”
Tricia Pippen: Attendance
Tricia Pippen also works in the attendance office alongside Rashidi. Previous to coming to Portola High, Pippen had diverse career experiences, from holding multiple corporate positions in human resources to running a daycare for children. Pippen said that her love for organization as well as her memories from attending Irvine High as a student led to her taking on her job at Portola High in 2017.
“We have amazing staff, wonderful co-workers and the kids are a lot of fun,” Pippen said. “Portola is just the best school to be around.”
Nazanin Rashidi: Attendance
Nazanin Rashidi works in the attendance office, answering questions from students and parents about attendance, administering slips to late students and logging attendance. After Rashidi received her bachelor’s in finance, she worked as an accountant, but took a break from work after having kids. Upon returning to work, she decided to pursue a career in a school setting, working as an Instructional Assistant before taking up her role in attendance.
“I love working with kids, and I like the school environment,” Rashidid said. “It’s more calm and relaxing for the most part. I like the flexibility because I have kids, so this was the best fit for me to manage the home life and still be able to work.”
Erin Rahe: Health Assistant
Health Assistant Erin Rahe takes care of students who need assistance when they are sick or injured. Although she has to manage a high volume of Portola students, she loves working in a health office and looking forward to helping students, according to Rahe.
“My main focus, obviously, is taking care of the students and then I also do all the records keeping for the immunizations,” Rahe Said. “We have a high volume [of] students, and [we need to] make sure that everybody gets the adequate care that they need.”
Alissa Wicken: Data Clerk
Data Clerk Alissa Wicken helps the assistant principals with whatever they need, such as PRIDE projects for students. Additionally, she plays a vital role in assisting scheduling and managing detention. She previously worked for Disney for 15 years and transitioned to Portola High School last November because she wanted to get a consistent schedule, similar to her kids’.
“It’s interesting to see how the different kids are compared to when I was in high school, and to see what kind of [students] they are growing up to be,” Wicken said.
