Without Jenna Motyka, this school might fall apart.
Everyone knows the friendly face greeting people in the Schoolhouse. If you need a blue sheet, she has you covered. Questions regarding travel forms or shuttles to airports, go find Ms. Motyka. Questions about, well, anything? Ask Ms. Motyka.
She is key to the Williston community; where would Williston be without her?
Motyka is the Coordinator of Student Services and works in the Deans’ Office. A Hadley resident, Motyka monitors student attendance, makes phone calls to parents, organizes travel arrangements, and much more. She is so valued and loved at Williston that in 2017 The Log yearbook was dedicated to her.
Motyka has worked at Williston for 16 years; in her first five years at Williston she worked in the library. This year is the start of her 12th year in the Deans Office.
She came to Williston looking for a part time job because she had two little kids who needed to be placed on the bus every day. Motyka ended up falling in love with the place and the people at Williston.
Her two kids, Thomas and Tucker, graduated in 2021 and in 2022, respectively. Tucker is currently a junior at the University of Miami FROST School of Music, while Thomas is a senior at Webb Institute, where he specializes in naval architecture and marine engineering.
Motyka said her favorite part of her job is interacting with students.
“I am so lucky to have the opportunity to see all of you almost every day,” she said
“I love the kids and the energy they bring every day. Each day is different, and there are no two days that are the same,” she added.
On the other side of the coin, Motyka said her least favorite part of her job is “travels forms and getting people to submit them.”
Motyka hopes students stop by and say hello because there are 142 new students whose names she wants to learn, and each year Motyka makes it her mission to memorize every student’s name.
“I encourage students to stop by and reintroduce themselves. I often get it wrong before I get it right – so please show me grace.”
Those in Motyka’s immediate vicinity know exactly how much she does on a daily basis. Dean of Students, David Koritkoski, said that Motyka is “incredible” and he appreciates all the hard work she puts in every day.
“She cares deeply about the school and its students, and she is professional and dedicated to her job,” Koritkoski said. “It would be incredibly challenging to run the school without her. We would need two people to replace her.”
“My life would not be the same without her,” he added.
On a typical day, Motyka’s job includes reading emails, receiving phone calls around 8:15 a.m. (students out sick or stuck in traffic), checking in with Coach K, greeting everyone as they walk into the Schoolhouse for first block, checking attendance in Veracross at 8:30 a.m., connecting with athletic trainers to see if students are being excused from sports, explaining the lunch schedule, setting up student meetings for the Deans’ Office, and dozens of other tasks.
In the afternoon, Motyka says she starts to receive phone calls around 2:00 p.m. about students being picked up early and needing to be excused from sports, connects with Health and Wellness at 3:30 to see if anyone is being excused from sports that day, and manages lots of late leave requests on Thursday and Friday afternoons.
Motyka told The Willistonian that on a recent day, she received 89 e-mails. “Of those 89 e-mails, only 6 were junk or required no follow up from me. I sent 56 e-mails, and I had 39 phone calls (combined calls incoming/outgoing).” She also had 19 texts related to work.
All of this is, of course, done in her signature red clogs and usually some sort of red article of clothing. Also, have you noticed she never sits down?
Head of School Bob Hill attributes the warmth of the Schoolhouse to Motyka’s presence when students enter the building.
“She’s amazing! I think over the years students have been great about shouting out Ms. Motyka’s importance as the face of the Schoolhouse,” Hill said. “Not only that, she knows everything that’s going on that impacts students’ lives at Williston.”
History and Global Studies teacher Allison Malinowski, like many other Williston community members said, “I would not know who to ask about questions. She’s my go-to person.”
English teacher Jessica Rohan has been very impressed by Motyka’s ability to multi-task.
“With a smile on her face and a compliment at hand, it’s superhuman,” she said.
Junior Daryn Fox is grateful for Motyka, because otherwise she admits she would not know what is going on.
“I wouldn’t know my schedule and know what to do when,” Daryn said. “If Ms. Motyka could wake me up and tell me to go to breakfast, I would listen.”