Need a tardy slip? Go to Mrs. Alvarado’s office. Feeling sick and need to call home? Head up to Mrs. Alvarado’s. These are only two of the many important duties Virginia Alvarado takes on every day at Riordan High School, Monday to Friday, ever since July 7, 1990.

Before Riordan, Alvarado worked 10 years for International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation in Nicaragua as an administrative assistant. When she arrived in the United States, Alvarado had the opportunity to work for the Archdiocese of San Francisco at the Church of the Visitacion. However, the stipend she received from the Archdiocese was not enough for her family to live on.

Her supervisor, Father Joseph Marini at Visitacion, recommended that she apply for a job opening he saw at Riordan High School. Though the position was given to another applicant, Alvarado received a phone call asking if she was interested in another position in the Development Department. This is how she came to work as the Administrative Assistant to the Dean of Students.

In her 28 years of being the administrative assistant, Alvarado has experienced many memorable moments, which she says she will keep in her heart forever. Attending the rallies and sports games were her favorite activity, especially when her son, Rafael Alvarado ’98, and her nephew competed. She even had the opportunity to be a judge at some rallies.

What Alvarado will miss the most are her students. Those moments where they say hello or greet her mean so much to her because the students embody much of the Crusader family spirit. Like all families, they like to joke with one another; she jokingly offers to call students to wake them up for school.

Alvarado said, “I really enjoyed my 28 years at Riordan. Retiring has been a difficult decision to make. The administration, faculty and staff have been my family. . . . It is now time to go but my heart will remain always here with my fellow Crusaders.”

Alvarado will leave Riordan High School after 2018 Winter Finals Exams.