Kimelman finds her niche at Monroe Elementary School

Audrey Kimelman said she always wanted to be in education. The Monroe Elementary School receptionist has fit right in at Monroe Elementary School and has been named the Walton County School District Support Person of the Year. Stephen Milligan | The Walton Tribune

It took Audrey Kimelman a while to find her way to Monroe Elementary School.

She’d tried several different fields, working in cosmetology, accounting and other places, always looking for the right fit.

In 2020, right in the teeth of the COVID pandemic, she took on the job of receptionist at MES and found what she was looking for, a determination the school and overall system obviously share as Kimelman was selected this fall as the Walton County School District’s Support Person of the Year.

“It’s crazy,” Kimelman, who is now the secretary and registrar at MES, said. “It’s a huge honor, one I did not expect. Being able to represent my school is awesome.”

Kimelman grew up in nearby Rockdale County, graduating from Salem High School and moving to Monroe a few years later after her marriage. She attended Gwinnett Technical College during that time and earned a degree in cosmetology, but found it not to her liking after graduation.

“Soon after, I decided it was not for me,” Kimelman said. “I went to an accounting firm for six months and it was just boring. And then I was at Alcovy Signs for five years.”

During that time, she had two daughters, now 14 and 9, and continued to dream of perhaps returning to the schools in a professional capacity.

“I always wanted to be in education, in a school,” Kimelman said. “I remembered the front office lady at my elementary school, how she was sort of the mom of the school, and that really appealed to me.”

So when she discovered MES was looking for a new receptionist, she jumped at the chance and soon found herself with the job… just as schools across the state were going into lockdown for the 2020 pandemic.

“I got the receptionist job just three weeks before COVID hit,” Kimelman said. “That was a wild learning experience.”

But as she settled in at MES, eventually moving over to the adjoining desk at the front office to take on the role of secretary and registrar, she found she had found where she belonged.

“I love getting to know all the families here,” Kimelman said. “I love to see all the progress the kiddos make. It’s really neat to see these kids grow and make strides.”

The kids were just as excited to see Kimelman earn the honor of Support Person of the Year for the entire school district.

“They think it’s really neat,” Kimelman said. “I’ve had a lot of kids come up and congratulate me. They think it’s cool.”

And as she continues to welcome families and watch students come and go at MES, she said she’s proud to represent the school that finally became the home away from home she was searching for.

“It’s an amazing honor,” she said. “I hold it very close to my heart.”