In just a couple of days, Seniors(that's big S) will be saying goodbye to Park Center forever, while other students and most staff will be back in the hallways by September. The Class of 07’ are not the only ones saying goodbye. Along with the Seniors, Mrs. Mary Brenny will be leaving Park Center also.
Mrs. Brenny and her Student Assistant
Mrs. Brenny has been the school nurse at Park Center for 18 years, but has been in the district for a total of 27. After many years at Park Center, Mrs. Brenny has announced her retirement. When I asked her why she chose to be a nurse, she replies, “My mother was a teacher, and I didn’t want to compete with her.” Not only that, she said that there weren’t many career choices for women when she was in high school. So seeing that she had always been interested and done well in science, she chose nursing. The college she attended was Creighton University located in Omaha, Nebraska.
The kind of people she sees everyday vary from wonderful people to a few sassy and not cooperative ones. She says that majority of the people are super, which is why she likes to work at the high school. The most common sickness at Park Center are stomachaches and headaches. Mrs. Brenny states that they are caused because 70% of them did not eat breakfast. Tip of the Day: EAT BREAKFAST.
Mrs. Brenny enjoys seeing how people behave in the office. She describes the most amusing and common behavior: “Often, students claim to be sick and look pale, but then when interesting things happen in the office, they’re laughing and look good enough to go back to class.” Don’t think that she doesn’t know what you’re up to. She knows that a lot of students try to take advantage of the nurse's office to get out of class, and that some probably succeed.
Not all of Park Center’s illnesses are as simple as stomachaches and headaches. The most serious health issue that Mrs. Brenny has encountered happened the first year she was at Park Center. A senior girl had fainted and hit her head on the hallway and they had performed CPR, but sadly she passed away at the hospital. Mrs. Brenny states, “Seeing people die is the hardest and most serious thing”. Other than that, all other injuries that have happened have been fixable.
Not only is Mrs. Brenny our school nurse, she also feels like a social worker from time to time. She helps students with a lot of emotional problems and has given out many referrals over her 18 years. And at least twice a year, she deals and reports issues concerning abuse. Although she helps students with non-physical health problems, she likes that there is good teamwork amongst the staff at Park Center. Her office is right next to the counseling offices, a very convenient location.
On those occasions when she has no kids in her office, Mrs. Brenny doesn’t stop caring about the students. She uses the time to call parents when she is concerned about a student’s health. Also in her spare time, she does an hour and a half of computer entry, and also organizes supplies. Nurse Brenny is known for her extra effort and late hours. Even though her work day ends shortly after the students are gone, she can often be found at school until the late afternoon.
What are Mrs. Brenny’s plans after retirement? She plans to travel, get her house in order, get involved in volunteer work (maybe even at PC), substitute nursing, and also volunteering to help the next nurse that takes her place for the first few days this fall.
Even though Mrs. Brenny is helping the next nurse take her place, no one will ever be able to fully replace her. Mrs. Brenny said, “I’m going to miss everybody”. And everyone who she has helped during her career here at Park Center will definitely miss her too.
