While some students, after graduating high school, find it hard to figure out what field to work in, Cindie Kozeluh, knew she wanted to work as a secretary at a young age. She found a job at a place close to her heart: District 225, where she attended highschool from 1973-1977. She has devoted 41 years of her career as a secretary for district 225 and currently works alongside Superintendent Dr. Charles Johns.

As a secretary, Kozeluh has a multitude of responsibilities as she supports Johns in his daily tasks, whether it be carrying out projects assigned by Johns or maintaining databases for related organizations. According to Kozeluh, the first 38 years of her career were spent at  Glenbrook North.

“I was familiar with the school and the area,” Kozeluh explained. “I was only 19 when I started, and I wasn’t a really adventurous kid. I was looking at ads in the paper and I saw that somebody needed [a secretary] at Glenbrook North, it seemed like a good fit.”

Part of the reason why Kozeluh has dedicated so many years to District 225 is because of the exceptional people that have worked with her over the years.

“Everybody really cares about the district and the students,” Kozeluh said. “I’ve had nine different bosses and every boss has made me feel respected and appreciated. I’ve always wanted to come to work and it’s because of my bosses. I’m very grateful to [former superintendent] Dr. Michael Riggle for hiring me from Glenbrook North and giving me the opportunity to work at the District office.”

Kozeluh’s sister, Victoria Henderson, paraprofessional for South,  believes that her sister’s dedication to District 225 has had a positive impact not only on Kozeluh’s life, but the on district as well.

“They’re lucky to have had her for all these years and she’s lucky to have had them,” Henderson said. “She’s really enjoyed her career and all the people and kids that she’s met.”

Johns shared his first impression of Kozeluh when he was being interviewed for the superintendent position. When the photocopy shop had made a mistake, Kozeluh went out of her way to make copies.

“I turned to [Kozeluh] as I was waiting to be interviewed and asked her if she could make copies,” Johns said. “She sprang to action made all the copies I needed and everything was good and in order. [She] was so helpful because it would have been pretty easy [for her] to be unapproachable.”

Looking back on Kozeluh’s long career at the district, Johns expressed the importance of Kozeluh’s years of dedication.

“It’s hard to imagine anyone more dedicated to this community,” Johns said. “[Kozeluh] is passing along stories of good examples of what we want as our staff, as our colleagues, and as our friends, so it’s a really important role. The values of the district are transmitted through stories and she’s got 41 years of stories.”