Mary Mahaffa, City High’s music secretary, has been involved in City High’s music department ever since she was in high school.

“I have two children that went to City High in the music department and I did a lot of volunteering so when the position came open I let them know I was interested,” said Mahaffa.

She has been working at the school for six years.

“I’ve seen [the music department] change since I got here just because we’ve had different teachers in different roles so obviously that makes a difference. I actually graduated from City High and played cello here when I was at school,” said Mahaffa. “I remember when I was in orchestra there had to have been fewer than twenty students in the entire orchestra program so the whole programs boomed quite a bit.”

Mahaffa says the most useful tool in her job is Exel, which keeps her organized. A water bottle comes in handy because the temperature of her office is unpredictable. Mahaffa also keeps some back-up concert attire (necklaces for one of the choir groups) in her office since concert attire is what students most often forget.

“You stick out like a sore thumb if everyone else is dressed in a tux or dress you’ve got jeans or sweatpants,” said Mahaffa. “The funniest one, though, was when a student came directly from a soccer tournament or a soccer meet–one of the two, and he still had his soccer uniform on when he showed up for the choir concert and no time to change. So he performed in his soccer uniform.”

Despite their forgetfulness, the students are Mahaffa’s favorite part of the job.

“I think the funnest thing for me in this job is watching the students change over the four years that they’re here,” Mahaffa said. “They grow from being a little uncertain and timid at the beginning to being self-confident and knowledgeable in a few years.”