Kari Sauerwein
Most students use the library without a passing thought, whether it be checking out books for leisure or reserving a book for a project. However, few know the work that goes into maintaining the area. For assistant librarian Kari Sauerwein, the work is worth it.

¨It varies day-to-day what I do, sometimes it’s restocking the book shelves or mending. I do a mix of everything,” Sauerwein said. “It’s not very orderly. I don’t have a set schedule where I need to do this at one time and this at another. I like the openness because it keeps me on my toes and I don’t get bored. That is very important to me.”

Sauerwein feels a unique type of reward at the end of each day, knowing that it’s possible she helped at least one student.

“It seems like there was not specifically a day where I thought ‘I was born to do this,’ it is more of a situation where somebody will wander in, questioning what to read,” Sauerwein said. “It’s the moment where I can say, ‘Oh yes! I know what you have read, read this,’ It’s that moment of connecting with a reader that makes it worthwhile.”

Rob Wharton
While most people are still sleeping, custodians are already at work. After starting their day at 6:30 a.m., the custodians work non-stop until 10:00 p.m. on nights the school has activities. Facing lunch, set up and take down for events, and typical maintenance is a daunting task for such a limited number of people. Head of custodial staff Rob Wharton faces these challenges every day.

“On a day-to-day basis, my two custodians that work days cover lunch and if one of them is gone, I step in. I am usually running around getting information from Brian (Becker) or Lisa (Moore) about whatever events are coming up so we can make our plans. Every day is different for me. I don’t like the repetition, I like the difference. I like having different jobs and different tasks,¨ Wharton said.

Even with around the clock maintenance, Wharton enjoys his job particularly when their work is recognized by others.

¨The most rewarding part is definitely when the kids appreciate what the custodians really do,” Wharton said. “That’s kind of cool, there are some good kids that will mention ´nice job´ or ´thanks for helping´ and that’s rewarding. I appreciate that. I think we all really appreciate that.”

Michael Doerksen
Those who have know Michael Doerksen are familiar with the dedication he puts towards helping students make sure they are being the best version of themselves. After working as a teacher and paraeducator for 36 years, Doerksen knows the small victories and troubles of working with students but says he would not do it if he didn’t love it as much as he does.

“I retired a year and a half ago from teaching, I would of been doing something somewhere so I decided to come back to teaching. As a para I still get to work with kids,” Doerksen said. “I work with kids in classes, helping them with anything they may struggle with to keep them on top.”

Along with helping students succeed, Doerksen found another reason to fall in love with teaching.

¨I got into teaching because I could also coach and I really enjoyed that, maybe more than teaching. After all, it’s just a different form of teaching,” Doerksen said. “That was a big part of why I started teaching. Just the thrill of watching somebody figure something out for themselves finally is a good thing.”