By Getsemani Cazares and Arlie Kontic
The last time Ms. Angelica Aros was at Pueblo, as a high school senior in the 1999-2000 school year, PHS still had pay phones around campus; 18 years ago, students—and much of the world—did not know what cell phones were. People were still “paging” on their “beepers”, she recalled.
Aros is Pueblo’s newest attendance clerk—filling in for Ms. Rosalie Sinteral, who retired in December. But, she is not new to working in T.U.S.D.
“I know this [attendance office] work extremely well,” Aros said. “I could do this job in my sleep.”
Prior to returning to Pueblo, Aros worked at Pistor Middle School for seven years; then, she moved to Hohokam Middle School until the facility closed, at which time she transitioned to Tucson High Magnet School, where she remained for nearly four years.
Following graduation from Pueblo High School in the spring of 2000, Aros (whose maiden name was Miranda) attended Pima Community College with a soccer scholarship.
“Sports were always my passion in high school,” Aros said. “In fact, they still are.”
She added that although she loves her job, sometimes she chuckles at some of the excuses parents give for their children being absent or tardy.
“I could probably write a book about all of the stories I’ve heard [from parents],” Aros said. “As silly as some of the excuses are, we [the attendance office] have to accept them as legitimate.”
Except for the pay phones being removed from campus, Aros said that Pueblo “pretty much looks the same” as it did back in 2000.
“It’s good to be back,” she said.