Behind-the-scenes staff members help Gunn run smoothly

Up the P-building steps, straight into the College and Career Center and to the left is where students can find registrar Ofelia Smith and her understandably paper-laden desk. Like most school registrars, Smith acts as a recordkeeper, managing and updating official documents such as the ever-important student transcripts. Though the specifics of her role vary at different points of the year, Smith...

From 6 a.m. to late in the evening, an essential team of custodians works tirelessly to keep the campus clean and running. The team splits up into night shifts and day shifts. Head Custodian Luciano Hernandez’s workday starts at 3 p.m. “The first order of the day is making sure that if anybody called in sick, I have a replacement,” he said. “Then, after I’ve made sure the rest of the team...

Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Student Nutrition Supervisor and Gunn Kitchen Lead Melanie Gomez has worked in PAUSD kitchens since 2012. She began working in the Gunn kitchen in 2012 before switching to the Palo Alto High School department in 2017 and then returning to Gunn in 2021. Along with serving as the Gunn lead, Gomez has also worked in the nutrition departments for other middle and...

Every morning, long before most students arrive, Computer Support Specialist Chris Munoz is already at school, knocking off the first few requests to fix technology across campus. “I usually come in at around 7:30 a.m.,” he said. “The first hour, I make sure to get everything done from the last day that I didn’t get to. Usually, I’ll start off with tickets that are for teachers, and then...