Every building has a backbone. In order to keep the windows and walls from collapsing, every structure needs a skeleton, hands holding up the roof so that everyone can walk under. At Antioch Community High School,  the I-Beams are made of dedication and paperwork, steady and stable hands that belong to three incredibly important employees: Cindy Stolarik, Nancy Corey and Patricia Fluger.

Stolarik is the athletic secretary. This means that from her small office near the sports entrance she controls the entire athletic program. She assumes responsibility for player eligibility, buses for field trips and sports games, sports schedules, athletic websites, all sports officials and referees, sports facilities, team pictures, rosters and awards.

“I’m always busy. I don’t think there’s ever a day when I don’t have anything to do. But I love it,” Stolarik said. “This is the most rewarding job I’ve had because I know everything I do matters; it makes a difference and it’s helping kids be able to do their sport.”

Stolarik described her job as incredibly detail-oriented and fast-paced. At the beginning of every sports season she is bombarded with kids showing up for information about their eligibility. Her favorite part of her job, she said, is helping the students get what they need to make the team, from nervous faced freshmen to seniors signing up for their last round of high school sports.

Stolarik is retiring at the end of this year, ready to pass the baton to the next brave soul running the race where she left off.

Just a short walk down the hall leads to Nancy Corey, the ACHS’s secretary to the Principal.

Corey spends most of her day in the front office. She arrives at the school much before any other staff member, getting ready for the day ahead. Corey organizes everything for the substitute teachers and hands out their rosters for the day. Corey is the foremost secretary to the highest rungs of administration in the school. She worked with past Principals Mike Nekritz, Eric Ernd and John Whitehurst before current ACHS Principal Bradford Hubbard arrived this year. Corey is also in charge of all registration and graduation related affairs and is one of the only staff members that works all summer long. She feels that her most important job is taking care of the staff and being ready to help anyone who is in need of something.

“I want everyone to feel like they can come to me. I love the staff, the students, the parents, the community. I think that’s why Antioch has such a family feel to it,” Corey said. “I love getting up in the morning; I love coming here. The people are so easy to work with, you know. The day goes fast—it’s just a pleasure to be here.”

Throughout the exchanging of management and progression of ACHS, Corey is the constant that keeps the school running smoothly. Teachers and students can take care knowing she is there.

Corey works in the same office as Patricia Fluger, but Fluger maintains a very different job.

Every time someone walks into the dean’s office they are greeted with a warm smile. Fluger dedicates herself to greeting everyone who walks through the double doors. Her job entails much more than simply handling detentions, parking passes and paperwork for the deans.

“It changes every day, every minute of the day.” Fluger said. “The paperwork I do has to be done; we have to keep track of whatever’s going on. But that’s not what it’s about for me. It’s giving [the students] a place to go for anything. Teachers send them here… ‘Go see Mrs. Fluger, she’ll have safety pins,’ ‘Go see Mrs. Fluger, she’ll be able to tape your shoe.’ They know I’ll do what needs to be done. I do what I do because it’s the right thing to do. Kids need help, I’m an adult, so I help them. I mean, I don’t have to do it. It’s not in my job description. There’s nothing else to it besides people have been kind to me throughout my life, so I feel that I want to be kind to others.”

Fluger graduated college with a degree in marketing, but after having children of her own, she found her way to ACHS. She hosts kids that need to take tests, that need a place to cool down, but more than that, she cares about each and every student who finds their way to the dean’s office.

“I don’t just help the bad kids, I help all the kids that come through here. I don’t want [the students] to be crabby and miserable. I want [them] to realize that there is more to this world than just the crap that we deal with. [They] have a choice to be happy even when the world is falling apart. [They] have a choice—what do you want to do? How do you want to react? And if I can be that example 80 percent of the time, then maybe [they’ll] think about it.”

Fluger’s kindness and nonjudgmental attitude serves as an inspiration to students, teachers and anyone who happens to cross her path.

All three of these women are strong and influential parts of ACHS and the community of Antioch. Without even just one of them, the infrastructure of the school would come tumbling down. They are three of the most important unsung heroes that should be celebrated every day.

“I don’t think there’s one hero…I think it’s one big team,” Cindy Solarik said. “Staff and students.”