Few at our school today can say that they have out-tenured former headmaster Craig Maughan, whose career spanned two decades. However, Randi Rolek, retiring after 26 years of service to the school, has been on campus since the days of former headmaster Jay St. John.
Rolek’s career at Trinity started as a result of driving past the campus on her way to her job at Orlando College. Interested in the school she passed so many times each week, Rolek dropped in one day to deliver a resume and see what would happen. To her surprise, Rolek was hired by then Upper School Principal Anne Hicks to work as the Upper School Secretary.
Over the years, Rolek has worked in a variety of positions and departments, often having more responsibilities added on when necessary. After working as a secretary for some time, the job of registrar was added, then scheduler, then the job of secretary removed, then the job of scheduler removed, and finally, the job of college counseling assistant added, which is the job she has worked for the past decade. To say that Rolek knows the ins and outs of the administration would be an understatement, but Rolek said that she’s always been up for a challenge.
“I like that,” Rolek said. “New anything is something that I love. It’s made it challenging but interesting, and [it’s] something that I like and kind of thrive on.”
Rolek noted that one of the biggest changes she’s seen since St. John’s and Maughan’s early years was the transition of expanding the school physically to accommodate a growing population to what is now a more academic and intellectual focus.
“The strategic plan at the time was developing the physical campus,” Rolek said. “There was a lot of energy and time spent on planning that and bringing it all to fruition.”
One thing that hasn’t changed, she said, was the students’ attitude towards learning.
“The kids, academically, have always been lifelong learners,” Rolek said. “They’re enthusiastic, [and] they’re hardworking; I haven’t seen that really change over all these years.”
Outside of the office, Rolek said that some of her favorite memories are winning a prize in the Trinity Literary Society Bake-off, accompanying the Spanish classes to the Dalí Museum, attending plays and sporting events, and helping out in the new garden.
“It’s 26 years of my life,” Rolek said. “It’s like a kid, and it will be something that I will miss. When they say family, they really mean family.”
Rolek said that she is especially grateful of the kindness and generosity of the Trinity family and how they came to help in hard times.
“Personally, we had an incident—my husband did—and so many people stepped up,” Rolek said. “It was really wonderful. It really touches me personally. And my son went to school here, so I consider that family. Now, when I see kids that he graduated with and teachers that he had, they ask about him, just like you ask about a cousin or a brother. People don’t forget, they remember. I know even after I leave that when I come back, I’ll hear about things that are going on, I’ll be wondering what’s happening with Tracey [Watson]. I think that’s what makes it a family.”
