Mrs. Snyder is the new Pupil Personnel Worker (PPW) at Gateway.  She has worked as an assistant principal for seven years and has been working for Carroll County for the past 25 years. I wanted to interview her because I knew her from Shiloh Middle School because she was my assistant principal and the PPW, although she also worked at West Middle, East Middle, Oklahoma Road Middle, and Long Reach High in Howard County.

Many students don’t know what a PPW does. Mrs. Snyder said that her “main role as a PPW is to focus on attendance, try to help students come to school, and make processes for in-school and out-of-school needs to make students as successful as the they can be.” Mrs. Snyder said, “I’ve always enjoyed working with children,” which is why she started her career by coaching field hockey in Anne Arundel County.

Mrs. Snyder also has interests outside of school. She likes to listen to Bruce Springsteen, although she doesn’t really have a favorite kind of music. She also volunteers at church, spends time with family and friends, and exercises. Mrs. Snyder is also an Eagles fan, and her favorite holiday movie is Elf. The only things she really dislikes are canned spam and cold weather. I asked what her favorite part of working at Gateway was and she proudly said, “Working with a caring and hardworking staff and an amazing group of students.”

Mrs. Snyder is very hard working, she cares a lot about her job and the students she works with, and she also has good taste in holiday movies.

Editor’s Note: This article was written prior to the closure of schools. It is noteworthy that although schools have been closed, Mrs. Snyder has been working tirelessly to make sure students have the supplies and equipment they need to be able to work from home. She also hand-delivers other things, such as food for those in need.