Every school morning since September 21, students have seen a woman, Kettia Nesbitt, smiling in the student parking lot and ready to greet them or ask where their ID is. In an interview with The Muse, Nesbitt discusses how she started out here, what she hopes to accomplish in her position, and how she keeps a positive outlook on life.

Q: What made you originally start? 

A: “(I started here) by happenstance. My husband decided to switch jobs from working for 34 years with the City of West Palm and he went to the city of Riviera. Then, he heard there was a position (open) with the school system. Something urged me to just go and start looking. Of course, I love Dreyfoos because my kids (went here). The culture here is absolutely wonderful and (I was) like, ‘Okay, let’s see what y’all have open,’ and lo and behold, they had the monitor (position) open.”

Q: What was the first day like?

A: “Being here was marvelous. I (knew) that the kids were awesome here. But now, I came to know the kids for myself  and they’re wonderful. All the kids, even while I’m telling them to put their badges on. They’re not rude, they’ll say ‘Okay ma’am’. Because of the badges, I’ve kind of formed little friendships and (started) knowing people’s names and fooling around with them.”

Q: What do you hope to accomplish while you’re here?

A: “ I would like to make a difference. You guys have a lot more pressure than we used to back in the day. So I will smile, just (say) a good morning. It’s repetitive, some of the kids make fun of me because I’m saying good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning. But it’s a good morning to every one of the children that I’m encountering. (I’m) just a smile to make their day better or a conversation. Even a ride on the cart might make the day for a child.”

Q: How have you been enjoying your job? 

A: “ I love my job, I just love what I do. I love the interaction with the kids. I actually had an experience the other day where a young lady was crying, and I was able to uplift her, and I was able to assist her and you know, allow her to know that it’s okay. Whatever’s happening today is not going to affect tomorrow, so just shake it off. Wash your face and smile. Once you smile, everything just feels better.”  

Q: How do you keep such a positive attitude?

A: “I’m just appreciative of life. So much is going around the world. It’s even around us, you go outside and you see a lot of homeless people, (and) you see a lot of people on drugs. You see a lot of other people that can’t handle life. Yes, I have problems, I have issues, but you know what — my faith, my happiness, (it) is above all that other negative stuff. So everything is well.”

Q: Do you have any last thoughts?

A: “As long as the sun is shining, smile. I hope that because I’m smiling, it’s contagious for (students) to smile as well. Most of the time, the kids will walk with their head down,(but) once they see me and I say good morning, they (say) good morning, and then they crack a little smile —even though it’s early in the morning. They’ll smile and then they’ll laugh and say ‘Yes it is’. So that right there makes my day, knowing that I just made an impact in their day.”