By Celine Hoang, Staff Writer
After 40 years of being the ASB bookkeeper, Penny Helenihi has decided to retire.
Before she came to Fountain Valley High School (FVHS), she has worked at the district in pay role. She loves Fountain Valley and she has enjoyed working here the most.
She enjoys working at FVHS because “It’s really nice working with students and getting up every morning and seeing their smiling faces, helping them out, and there’s a great staff here at Fountain Valley High School.”
Now that Helenihi is retiring, she plans on starting and finishing all the projects at home that she has created, such as getting her house painted and cleaning her garage, closets, and more. In May, her daughter and Helenihi are flying to Spain and Paris.
During her time working at Fountain Valley, she has experienced many changes.
“Well, when I first came to Fountain Valley in 1976, there were 5,000 students and it was the largest school west of the Mississippi. We had two lunches, two snacks, and two class periods. You could graduate in January if you had enough credits,” Helenihi said. “Most importantly, the culture of the school has changed, it is much more diverse now.”
Helenihi would miss working with students, staff and peers, a busy day, and most importantly, her co-worker Kristie.
“Kristie, the Activities Secretary, and I have worked together for 25 years. It is only the two of us in the office, so we have become like family. We like to say we started at Fountain Valley High School on the same day. It was her freshman year and my first year on the job. I am going to miss her.” Helenihi said.
Penny has been so much of a help to me be it in regards the Royal Regiment, Grad Night, Community Resources or even during Registration, text book distribution/collection and as a source of information. Possibly it was I could see her dedication to the School and the students. It seems whatever the event, she was there. Her 40 years of service is awesome and should be an inspiration to everybody. I will miss her and am thankful that I know her. It was always a good day when I would have to go to the Activities Office and be treated so well by her and by Kristie. Good luck in your retirement you have more than earned it. Hopefully, I will see you down the road. Enjoy. John Johlic