Among the many long-serving staff in GESS is Operations Manager Melanie Simon, who has taken on various roles over her 7 (and still counting) years. We speak with her on her journey in GESS.
Tell us about your background and career at GESS.
I started my career at GESS in 2012 as Head of First Aid Department, overseeing the Junior Campus First Aid Station. After a 3-year overseas stay in Germany as a travelling spouse, I returned to Singapore in 2016, rejoined GESS, and took on the role as Head of First Aid for the Main Campus.
When it was time for our big move to our new beautiful Dairy Farm Lane campus in 2018, I helped with various stages of the relocation. In addition to my primary role as Head Nurse then, I also took on coaching both the girls and boys for our Badminton Team – we achieved 2 Gold and 1 Silver medals in 2018-2019 school year.
At the start of 2020 when Covid came to the shores of Singapore, GESS quickly gathered a Crisis Management Team, and I was assigned the position of Assistant Pandemic Manager. With my crisis team, I oversaw the implementation of rules and regulations stipulated by the Singapore Government across GESS.
Tell us a bit more about what you do in GESS now.
In 2021 I took over the position as the Operations Manager, and I currently oversee:
• Canteen
• School bus
• First aid
• CCA / Language Enrichment Programme (LEP) / Vocal & Instrumental Programme (VIP)
• Facility rental
You oversee many functions in GESS, keeping day to day operations running smoothly. What is a typical day like for you at GESS?
I would say there is no typical day for me. Every day holds new surprises, and plans change all the time. My role demands a lot of flexibility and my background as a nurse has been extremely helpful. I would even compare it to somewhat like running a day in a hospital, where I always need to be on my toes, ready to react fast to situations and looking for solutions by staying calm and focused.
(Crisis Management Team formed to manage Covid back in 2020)
What would you consider the biggest challenge(s) in your work, and how do you overcome them?
The two-year long pandemic presented many challenges and problems on such a large scale, so many things were beyond our control and absolutely did not only impact GESS. Despite the difficulties, I was able to fulfill my daily tasks and overcome many issues, only because of our amazing Crisis Management Team. We pooled together different expertise, maintained open communications and I can only say, I am very proud of our teamwork and how well we managed that challenging period. Now that we are settling into a new norm, I am sure our experience together will enable us to manage our work even better.
What is the part of your work that you enjoy the most? And your motivation to keep going every day?
I enjoy being a productive team member to all the departments who work under or with me. Besides being a team leader, I have my part to play too in supporting them in planning and solving problems. What keeps me going here is the team spirit and the support I get at GESS – my length of service at GESS should bear testament to the wonderful work atmosphere!
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