FAIRBANKS — With the recent start of the school year, there’s plenty of attention on the interaction students have with teachers, principals, bus drivers and cafeteria workers, but that’s not to mention the countless efforts that go on behind the scenes at the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District.

One of the employees who has done her best to make sure her part of the district has run smoothly for more than 21 years is Velma Vargo, the 58-year-old administrative secretary charged with juggling the hundreds of events and activities scheduled throughout the school district.

The district rents its gyms and activity rooms to the public at a deep hourly discount and Vargo works with the public, as well as youth and adult recreational groups to find the right school district facility to host the event as well as fit it in with a myriad of school-sponsored sports, plays and science fairs.

“It sounds boring doesn’t it?” she said. “But I never know what someone’s going to ask me and I have try to figure out a place to do it. It’s like a giant jigsaw puzzle. It’s just a real challenge to help figure how to make the events happen and a lot of times the community member doesn’t know how they want to do it.”