by Shelley Bennett
For the past 15 years, my friend and coworker Dawn Lightsey has given her heart and soul to Lassen High School.
In the beginning she was hired as a clerk, assisting the director of the Lassen Technical Institute (LTI) and covering Academic Detention and lunch shifts in the front office.
She moved quickly to the Safety Office where she worked closely with the discipline team and security. Now she is our Registrar, an important facet of the counseling office, ensuring that students’ grades, credits, and transcripts are accurate and up to date, organizing graduations, registering new students, and in general, being the glue that holds this place together.
Unofficially, she has acted as my personal classroom decorator and organizer, 2015’s Class Advisor (and in the background for 2018, 2020, 2024), dessert provider for birthdays, proms, and WASC visits, Girls Soccer team mom, and assistant team dinner caterer for Varsity Boys Basketball during the 2017-2020 seasons.
That’s what happens when you work with one of your best friends.
For every idea that I have, Dawn has something to embellish it. Whether it is a metallic fringe curtain to go around the base of a Homecoming float or battery-operated candles for Gatsby’s funeral, she will dig deep into her “stash” and there it will be on my desk in the morning. Like magic!
Known for being “extra”, Dawn goes all out for spirit days and decorating contests. Under her direction, the counseling office has been turned into a pirate ship with a skeleton at the wheel, a Winter Wonderland with glittery snowflakes hung from the ceiling, and a life-sized Gingerbread House complete with giant gumdrops and candy canes.
And she will be the first one to tell you it’s all for the benefit of our students.
Dawn spends most of her time tracking down kids. From making sure their name is correct on their diploma to checking if they have enrolled in a new school after moving to a new town.
During Covid, she made sure that the Class of 2020 had the graduation they deserved. As I arrived on campus that morning, I started to cry because she had already covered the back parking lot with our grad’s banners and encased the surrounding buildings in purple.
There was a whole crew out there, but Dawn was in charge, waving her staple gun around and giving orders.
She’s also the person you contact when you need a transcript and I can’t tell you how many times she has dug through files from the 1970s and 80s when someone has applied for a new job or decided to finish their high school diploma.
When she was in the Safety Office, she kept her drawers stocked with snacks and bottled water for students who needed a pick-me-up. She was always kind and positive, even when monitoring lunch detention.
There was one boy, Kolby, who we both had a soft spot for. Dawn would send him to my room on an “errand” just so he could have a few minutes out of his chair.
Over the years, she has made sure that students have access to the resources they need, whether it be pre-natal care or a prom dress.
Friday will be Dawn’s last day of school. Her graduation from LHS. I know she is looking forward to spending time with husband Terry, traveling to visit daughters Katrece and Chantal, and taking grandkids Amour and Hunter on many adventures.
Thank you Dawn for sprinkling your glitter throughout the halls of Lassen High. We will be a little less sparkly without you.
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