Pascack Valley High School recently welcomed one of its newest staff members: Marina Kovac, who holds the position of building coordinator.
John Puccio, principal of PVHS, shared his first impressions.
“She’s approachable. She’s a nice lady, and I know she cares because she worked previously at Pascack Hills,” Puccio said. “I know she cares about the kids, and I know she cares about this place.”
Kovac previously worked at Pascack Hills High School, but landed the position at PV after taking an “open opportunity” upon the retirement of Sharon Knichel. When Kovac first saw the job position open, she decided that it was time for her to take a big leap into the next chapter of her life. After three years at PHHS, she was ready to take on a bigger part in helping the community.
“I kind of loved managing the kitchen at Pascack Hills and working as a team and making sure everything was…up to par,” Kovac said. “The position was open [at PV], and I took a chance; it was an open opportunity; I feel like this is where I’m meant to be.”
Kovac’s primary role at PV is to communicate with the maintenance staff around the building and to keep the building and grounds orderly.
“In order for [the operations] to run smoothly, I would say the most critical factor is always being on top of everything,” said Kovac. “To have clear communication, be proactive, and be organized.”
Puccio explained that other important factors of Kovac’s position consist of ensuring everything is well-functioning, especially for the students.
“First and foremost, we’re here to educate our students and provide them a safe learning environment,” Puccio stated. “So, one of the things we always look for, we always talk about, is safety and building, how can we improve things.”
One of Kovac’s biggest challenges she will have to face is making sure every part of Pascack Valley receives proper attention, with no parts left untended.
“We try to keep this [school] looking beautiful and honestly try not to overlook anything because we work as a team and make sure every single part of the building is taken care of,” Kovac said.
Part of Kovac’s role also includes attending to work orders for repairs and overseeing the custodians.
“She has a good-sized crew between our maintenance and custodial staff that she works with,” Puccio said. “There [are] daily things we take care of, there [are] things we correct and work on to make sure everything’s running nicely.”
Kovac believes the most crucial factor of her job is being able to handle challenging situations in a composed manner.
“The biggest challenge would be if you have something come up that wasn’t planned, but you need to stay calm, cool, and assess the situation,” Kovac shared. “It’s those unexpected things that come up.”
Kovac expressed that what she is most looking forward to for the next chapter of her life is being able to pay the good forward to the people of PV, a community of which her own children are a part.
“I feel like I’m giving back to my community, and I’m lucky because I have my kids here with me,” said Kovac. “I want to continue the success of Pascack Valley. I want to be a part of that, that success.”
