Teachers and staff rise in a standing ovation as Conestoga tech specialist Katrinia Stokes walks down the auditorium aisle to receive a commemorative 25-year pin. The school recognized Stokes during a ceremony held to commemorate staff who reached their 25th year of service. This year marks Stokes’s 25th and final year serving as the tech specialist of Conestoga.
“It (receiving the pin) was a feeling of such gratitude from the wonderful people that I work with,” Stokes said. “I can say I absolutely felt like my whole entire family was coming together (at the commemoration). It (was) a great feeling.”
Stokes was originally from North Carolina, where she worked as an insurance agent for around 20 years before moving to Pennsylvania. Stokes then found an open tech aide position and began working in the T/E school district in 1999. She worked as a tech aide at TEMS, and in 2001, the district invited her to be a tech specialist at Conestoga. As a tech specialist, Stokes supervises the tech deck, troubleshoots classroom issues, and handles all laptops, projectors and printers in the school.
“My first impression is that she runs around this building like a wild woman because she has so many things. So many. So many people calling on her and so many things that need to be tended to,” school guidance counselor Jennifer Kratsa said. “But I think the thing that sticks in my mind the most is that she’s really there for you morning, noon and night. I feel like when I reach out to her, she always responds. She’s always here for me. Whether I’m coming in really early in the morning at Conestoga or if I have an ACT (exam to proctor) and I’m calling on a Saturday, she’s always there to help.”
Among the staff, Stokes is known for her dedication to her job. She works long hours, usually arriving at school to begin working at 5 a.m. Managing all the technology at Conestoga, Stokes always strives to take care of the needs of every student, staff and classroom. Kathy Polites, a library aide who began working at Conestoga the same year as Stokes, has been a good friend of Stokes and appreciates her selflessness and work ethic.
“She (Stokes) does come in before anybody’s here so she can get her work done. She’s always there for everybody. She makes (staff) less stressed because she can take care of all their problems,” Polites said. “She just works diligently. She keeps her head down. She doesn’t look for accolades. She’s not looking for any attention at all.”
When she retires, Stokes plans to travel back to North Carolina to visit family and catch up on sleep. Even during retirement, Stokes looks forward to finding another career to pursue.
“I also am looking forward to going into another field. I don’t know what that is. It could be strictly volunteering, but I enjoy serving, so it’ll be a field of service. This is not the end. This is just retiring from this job,” Stokes said. “So on to the next one, whatever that holds. I’m looking forward to whatever’s ahead.”
With Stokes’s retirement calling for a new tech specialist at Conestoga, many staff feel that things will be different without her. While anyone could take care of the technology, Stokes’s genuine and beloved personality will be missed by staff.
“We (staff) fear that (things will) never be the same again because it’s hard to find somebody like (Stokes). She’s fun and she’s funny and she’s teasing and adorable. Nobody can fill her shoes,” Polites said. “The essence of who she is can never be replaced.”
Erin Zhang can be reached at [email protected].
