Page 6 - 2012 Wardlaw Hartridge

Dedicati
few years ago, it was mentioned in a yearbook dedication to Mr. Howard Freeman that “the person with the busiest job in the world is also the most down to earth.” With no disrespect towards Mr.
Freeman, it is time now to hand this title to a woman who works tirelessly behind the scenes. Her job title says “Upper School Administrative Assistant.” Frankly, the rest of the page could be filled with the titles that she could rightfully have. I'm speaking, of course, about none other than
Mrs. Jan Yates. To say that she's
instrumental to the Upper School
is an understatement. She is much
more than what her title indicates.
Mrs. Yates is vital to the senior class and the entire Upper School. She deals with all of our stresses and still manages to maintain a positive attitude. After writing down what I felt was sufficient for the dedication, I had every senior stay and write down on a piece of paper what they wanted me to say about her. It turns out I had missed a lot. One of my classmates had this to say: “We would not be in college if not for her.” Another senior said, “She is the foundation upon which the school is built.” Foundation. That word spoke to me regarding Mrs. Yates. A foundation, though largely unseen and under-appreciated, is the reason a building can exist. It's the reason, when in the harshest storms, the building is left unaffected. In our senior year, we would come in at all times of the day, sweating, crying, bleeding, desperately needing a transcript for a college app that was due in 3 hours. A calm, relaxed, even soothing “Okay” was all she needed to say before we immediately felt a huge weight lifted off our backs. We really could not have made it into college, or any of Upper School, without Mrs. Yates. The senior class dedicates this yearbook to her, because without Mrs. Jan Yates, we wouldn't have been able to overcome the small steps it requires to advance through high school. We would not be where we are today without her. We thank her for her tireless work and dedication to the students, and for being more than we could ever ask.
Written by Jimmy Nolan