There are many things in life that go by us without us realizing. Many great people who go unnoticed. Although the hard work of our staff is usually appreciated by our student body, we as individuals hardly take our time to thank our staff. One of those people is one of our own lunch ladies, Supervisor Assistant, Ms. Cinthya Matasol. She has served the students of Tracy Unified School District for many years.

Matasol has worked at West High for more than five years. Before working here at West, Matasol worked at Poet Christian School and substituted for McKinley Elementary School and North Elementary School. And then she worked permanently at North. She finally got a position for West High and soon received the title of Supervisor Assistant.

Serving food for hungry students is not as easy as it sounds. We always think of the stereotypical lunch lady who plops down a scoop of “stuff” and yells “NEXT”. However, if you notice our lunch ladies you will realize how much they care about us. They struggle and try their best to feed us and make sure we do not run out of food. Matasol said, “It can be hard sometimes, trying to get food out there and make sure everyone is fed.” Although it is hard to do her work, Matasol does not complain. She described her work as a challenge, “It’s very stressful; there are challenges… I like challenges!” Matasol is very optimistic with her work and dedicates her time and strength to our students.

The hardest part of her job is “time management.” It is a tough job preparing food for the 600 plus students in each lunch. “We don’t know how many come,” Matasol said about students during lunch. Our lunch ladies have worked hard and tried their best to satisfy our needs, from the hot specials that are unique for each day of the week to the variety of salad and toppings for our meals. If you have noticed, there are more vegetarian meals provided for kids. The vegetarian option provides an alternative to those students who are vegetarian or those who simply prefer vegetables over meat. These changes do not occur randomly, the lunch ladies are open to suggestion and want to bring the change that the students would like to see in their meal. “[I] love to get along with the kids because they are like our clients.”

It does not take a lot of effort to make others happy. A simple thank you or even just a pleasant smile can make one’s day. It is the least we can do for the amount of hard work the lunch ladies do for us. We need to be more open and generous with our appreciation towards the staff members that make West High feel like home.

Matasol has a personal attachment to West High not only because of the school or the students, but also because West High was the home to her two children. Matasol said, “West is in my heart. I love this school; I love the kids.”