Ask any senior how much a prom ticket costs, and they’d probably be able to tell you, but ask them how much North Penn spends on field trips yearly, and most would have no idea. Someone who could answer that question for us is Ms. Patti Sell, the North Penn budgeting secretary, in charge of maintaining the high school budget for the 17 high school departments and numerous athletic accounts, as well as coordinating transportation for field trips. However, after 34 years of service to the school community Sell is in the homestretch of her tenure and headed towards retirement.

While reminiscing on her time in the building, Sell recalls her first year at North Penn in 1990, where she was originally hired as the administrative secretary to an assistant principal. At the time she had been working in the mental health field for the Penn Foundation, but decided she needed a change.

“I got an interview and you know as they say, the rest is history,” she stated.

Although she has always been at the high school, Sell’s title has changed drastically throughout her career, doing everything from teacher scheduling to absences.

“The only thing I can recall I haven’t done in my tenure here at North Penn was I never worked for the administrator that oversaw the ISS [In school suspension] room,” Sell explained. “I have no idea what those functions are all about. I think I’ve done just about everything else in this building.”

One of her favorite jobs at North Penn was her time in the student office, where Sell was able to make meaningful connections with the high schoolers everyday for 20 years. When looking back, she’s grateful for the time where students would come to her just to talk about their day, and she’s glad she could create a comfortable space for them to be open with her.

“My interactions with the kids were awesome. I loved my work. I loved seeing them,” Sell added. “I acquired a great rapport with them so that [they] could communicate they were having a bad day, they weren’t afraid to come down and sit right by my desk.”

Her current position as budget secretary comes with an entirely different set of responsibilities and, as Sell puts it, no day is the same. At any given time, her office could be dead silent, or packed with a million disruptions. While this could seem daunting to some, Sell enjoys the ever changing flow of her workplace.

“I like the challenge..it’s something different every day so I never feel like I’m stuck in a rut doing something. I find it very rewarding and very exciting. It’s an active job. I’ve never felt the need that I wanted to go somewhere else,” she stated.

Excited to enter the next chapter of her life as a retiree, Sell plans to use her extra free time doing the thing she loves most in the world: spending time with her family. All along her office walls are pictures of her 3 children, and 12 grandchildren who age from 23 to five. Some of her favorite activities with them are going to carnivals, the park, and getting ice cream with them.

“We get together for dinners, picnics… it’s great seeing them all,” she added.

Now at nearly the end of her time with North Penn, Sell explained she will look back on her years in the district fondly, and is proud of her hard work and dedication to the job.

”I have no regrets ever coming here. I don’t. I’ve met a lot of great people, met a lot of great staff, and met a lot of great students.”