Mrs. Patricia Denney, Job Coach and Coordinator at Glenbard West is retiring after a 16 year term, beginning in 2006.

Mrs. Denney began her career at West as English Learner (EL) Community Liaison. “At that time [West] had a large population of refugee students from all over the world”, she recalled. “There were students from Rwanda, Eritrea, Nepal, Somalia, Myanmar, Sudan, Mexico, and many other countries.” Mrs. Denney’s job was to help these students and their families adjust to American life.

“I continue to stay in touch with many of [these] students” to this day. Mrs. Denney stated that her favorite memories at West were interacting with these very students, and recounted a fond memory: annual multicultural dinners. “Having all these different cultures united together in celebration will always be a wonderful memory”, she recounts. In a way, these dinners represented Mrs. Denney’s experience learning and understanding the diverse ways of her student’s lives.

Later on in her career at West, Mrs. Denney adopted her current position: Job Coach and Coordinator. This job entails working with West students, helping them find job and volunteering opportunities. “The best part of [my] job is the gift I get of watching young people challenge and stretch themselves and many times surprise themselves at what they can accomplish”, she recollected.

Mrs. Denney seemed reminiscent about retiring, concluding our interview with the following: “I am fortunate to have been part of the [West] family for the past sixteen years and I will miss being at the school and being surrounded by so many wonderful people!”

Congratulations to Mrs. Denney – she will be missed because of her importance to the school’s community.