Answering phones, taking notes, managing records and drinking coffee may be the first things that come to mind when thinking about a secretary, but Mrs. Angel Griffin, a secretary at Hazelwood West, is an exception. Griffin has worked at the main office front desk for more than 11 years. To her, the job is more than just sending emails to principals — she refers to it as customer service.
“In my position, I am first and foremost in customer service. You have to be customer service-driven. I am the face of the building and the first person they see,” Griffin said.
Griffin clarifies that while she does experience the average directing of the phone, tracing of students, registration helpings, ID makings and so much more. She believes that there are more important aspects to her job.
“Customer service is the most important part of my job, and the reason for that is because you get a lot of angry parents, different personalities, different spirits and you have to be able to smile and be that person who can calm them down in whatever situation they may be in,” Griffin said.
Griffin, who has worked at West since 2014, explains that this is not her first time working in customer service. She worked in sales as well, which influenced her positive charisma throughout her career at West High. Being sympathetic to others’ needs in a professional and timely manner is one of Griffin’s great traits.
“ My son is the reason I work here. I knew I wanted to be on the same schedule as him,” Griffin said.
Griffin’s son, senior Javion Griffin, is her only biological child. According to showme.missouri.edu, a Mizzou research study done in 2025 shared single-child families in “the United States, increasing from about 10% to 20% in recent decades.” This small increase still shows that 80% of families have multiple children, making only-child households very uncommon. This makes their bond that much stronger.
“Being a mom of a senior who works alongside her child is good and stressful,” said Griffin.
Just like every mother, there are natural anxieties that cloud judgment and influence worry. Griffin shares how her job requires her to witness many different types of students, causing a small hint of anxiety for her son to be at a public school, exposed to so many different things. But with the help of her job being at the same school as her son, Griffin expresses immense relief at being able to keep an eye on her child. And with her son being a senior, the bittersweetness of witnessing her only child start to leave the nest makes her job here at West even more special.
“I love it, I wouldn’t change a thing its a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I would never miss this for the world,” Griffin said.
Javion expresses how his freshman year was very awkward and a slight invasion of privacy, but later, throughout high school learned to get used to it. He got to enjoy his time with her and build a stronger bond with his mother.
“Its amazing that I am here with her 24/7 its a blessing, its very easy and having co/op allows the same hours with her because I do IT- informational technology I fix the chromebooks, but my mom is amazing sometimes I feel like she outshines me and she knows more people than me, but she helped me build a relationship with a lot of staff” Javion said.
Griffin’s personality shows how being a face of positivity, a loving mother, and an active member in her community contributes to her job here at West. Griffin is more than just your average 9-5 employee or coffee addicted secretary. She shows kindness to every student, parent, or staff member who comes her way.
“When she first started working here, she was a hall monitor, but her openness and honesty and her willingness, mixed with her consistency in conversing and keeping conversation with me, mean a lot, and how we became close because it’s hard to meet people who are open. I can tell that she loved the kids here and that was a plus for me she genuinely went out of her way and befriended the kids especially those who had complicated homelifes, even having her child as a parent she was the type of parent who was involved without being pushy she’s always been 100% in her child’s corner but realistic about his abilities, as a teacher I was happy and seeing another black woman actively parenting her child meant everything to me ” said AP African American teacher Natalie Tate.
