After arriving at school, Larry Signorelli sits down at his desk and opens his laptop. He begins to review the school’s finances. Looking over past and present sources of income, he works to predict where future sources of revenue lie and how to provide the resources needed to give students the best education possible.

Signorelli, the Director of Finance, is among the group of individuals who keep the school running behind the scenes. While he is new to staff,

Signorelli is already familiar with the Patriot family,
as he is an alum of the class of ‘76.

Signorelli’s time spent at JC as a student led him to his current position. When he received the call regarding the position, he did not hesitate to accept. “This is a great school. I credit all of my success to JC,” Signorelli said. His positive experience as a student is what drives him to make the school the best it can be.

Signorelli’s job is centered around the management of the school’s finances. “I look forward to figure out where we will be,” he said. He is most interested in bringing in revenue so that the school has a positive future.

In addition, Signorelli is focused on how many prospective students the school is bringing in. “My job is to make peoples’ jobs easier,” Signorelli said.

While working hard to keep track of the school’s finances and project what we will be doing years down the road, Signorelli strives to make JC more efficient. “My customers are the teachers and administrators,” Signorelli continued, “I make sure they can serve their customers, [the students].”

Signorelli’s goals for the school lie far beyond just this school year. His main focus is to make sure that JC has the funding to provide students with the best possible education. He hopes to accomplish this, in part, through the right investments and returns. So far, Signorelli has enjoyed his time at JC. “Everyone works hard here,” he said.

Dawn Teel walks into her office and sits down at her desk. Immediately, she opens her laptop to check her email and make a plan for her day.
She coordinates meetings and begins working on her daily projects. As if this isn’t enough to keep her busy, Teel also handles incoming phone calls, inquiries from parents, students, employees, and outside groups for the principal, helps organize graduation, and works as the Shield the Vulnerable Screening Coordinator for the Archdiocese.

Teel, the Executive Assistant to the Principal, rarely has a dull moment. After working for the school for over 15 years, Teel has worked closely with many different people to help the school run smoothly. “I need to, as part of my job, and to help the school run the best that it can, do everything I can to move forward and be positive and to just grease the wheels and make everything run,” Teel said.

Because of her position, Teel works closely with Principal Tom Durkin.

“He’s got a huge workload because he’s got his class, being out with students … his administrative meetings and responsibilities, so I basically am trying to move along all the things that need to occur so that he can sign off on them and focus on the things that are most important to him,” she said.

Additionally, working as the Shield the Vulnerable Screening Coordinator, Teel sends out information about how to volunteer for the school.

She checks that volunteers have completed the training and screening required and checks their driving record with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Teel also works on the calendar and graduation committees. “I’m responsible for the medals and the awards [at graduation],” Teel said.

Additionally, Teel helps the community frequently. “It doesn’t matter if it’s not my department or it’s not my job. If someone needs help or something needs to get done, then we figure it out, and we get it done,” she said.

Scott Porter begins his morning by making sure that the production lines are set and that the Patriot Café opens on time. In order to do so, many important tasks must be completed. The correct amount of food must be on hand and the right amount of food products must be made. He ensures the availability, variety, quality, and quantity of the food served.

As Food Services Manager, Porter makes sure students receive a wide selection of food for meals. This has been his mission for the past year and a half that he has been a part of the Patriot family. “I make sure that quality is there with the food,” Porter said.

To Porter, the standard of food is just as important as the quantity because the better the food is, the more inclined people are to return. “If the meal is good and the meal looks good, it’s fulfilling, so then the customer always comes back,” Porter said. He enjoys making people happy, and he is enthusiastic about both the food industry and customer service. “I enjoy the food industry, and I enjoy serving people,” Porter said.

Porter strives to be both flexible and accommodating in such a way that his customers’ needs are met. “I’m a hands-on guy. I love talking to people, making sure that we are meeting all the demands or needs of the customer, and here, it’s the students,” Porter said.

With a high demand for food, Porter works diligently to ensure that his customers are indulging in the best meal that he can provide. “[My job is] rewarding. It goes back to the beginning. It’s all customer service, the food industry, [and] making sure people are happy,” Porter said.

As a result of Porter’s efforts, students are able to enjoy a variety of delicious meals that are different from the ones they might have at home. In addition to making sure that good food is on the plate, Porter also works hard to make sure that each student’s needs are met. “My favorite part of my job is that I love working with people,” he said.

Taylor Bynion is the Copy Chief and Amelia Bothwell is a Community Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.