Teresa Perigo is the 2015 Staff Member of the Year at James Clemens High School. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Her colleagues at James Clemens High School have selected Teresa Perigo as 2015 Staff Member of the Year.

As bookkeeper at James Clemens, Perigo handles accounts receivable/payable, budgets and mid-month payroll. “In addition to these duties, I handle the contracts for James Clemens,” she said.

In recent months, Perigo helped to mentor Jets students. “It’s a great honor to be a part of these students’ lives and help them with challenges in their lives,” Perigo said. “In the end, the students have helped me more than I have helped them.”

For Perigo, the most fulfilling aspect of her job is “working with such an outstanding group of people. I’m very blessed to be a part of the James Clemens family. The biggest challenge is managing the demands of a school the size of James Clemens and meeting each individual’s needs.”

During her own years in school, “one very significant educator made a big impact” in her life. “Mr. Bush was my high school principal … a man who was there for all of his students.”

“Mr. Bush made it a point to get to know his students and he loved them dearly,” Perigo said. “He instilled in me a desire to want to help others. I’m very thankful to have had such a loving man during my high school years.”

In other jobs, Perigo worked at Madison and Horizon elementary schools.

“I have two wonderful children. Caleb is 25 years old, and he has been pursuing a degree in elementary education at Athens State University while working at Dillard’s,” Perigo said. “He will student-teach next spring.”

Her daughter Kristen, 20, is pursuing a degree in athletic sciences at the University of South Alabama.