From lollipops and Jolly Ranchers, to friendly conversations and encouragement, when students go to the Upper School front office, they know they will be met with warm greetings. Mel Hurst, the US Administrative Assistant, is one of the most beloved people at Fort Worth Country Day. Hurst has been at FWCD for 16 years, but moved into the high school building three years ago.
Hurst enjoys her job in the office because it doesn’t involve having to punish anyone or make anyone have a bad day. Instead, she uses her position to encourage students and help to create a positive environment at the school. Students come and visit her all day, and most of the time they aren’t even late to school or leaving. Students bring her presents for her birthday and other holidays as well.
“My favorite part about this job is talking to the kids. I love getting to know them, and I enjoy talking to them about their lives outside of school,” Hurst said.
When walking into the front office, Hurst is the first person you see, but to the left is Christy Lennox the US Registrar. The two had met a long time prior to working at FWCD, when Lennox was walking with a friend through the town square in Granbury, Texas and happened to run into her. Now, years later, they are neighbors in the upper school office.
“It’s helpful that we are right next to each other because it makes things easier. If she gets a call but she’s not in the office, I can answer and it helps her out,” Lennox said.
Not only do they just help each other out whenever they need it, but they also have a strong friendship.
“It’s always nice to have someone to talk to and laugh with,” Lennox said.
Lennox may be used to Hurst’s vibrant personality and social nature, but the students at Country Day are accustomed to it as well. Rhea Alexander ‘24 enjoys going to the front office every day, not to sign in or out, but to get to visit with Hurst and cheer up her day.
“I love how genuine and sweet she is. She’s always in a welcoming mood; I could literally walk into her office after a bad test and get candy and talk to her and everything will be better,” Alexander said.
Alexander is not the only student to feel this way. Holland Link ‘24 loves walking to the front office every day to grab some of Hurst’s seasonal candies and chatting about her daily life.
“Mrs. Hurst is by far one of the best faces to see every day. She always has a smile on her face, a conversation ready to start, and candy for everyone to take. She is so helpful and kind to everyone she talks to,” Link said.
Hurst has three children with her husband Keven Hurst: Christian White, Kathleen White, and Annalee White. Christian now lives in Kingwood, Texas just outside of Houston, and he has two children with his wife who is also his highschool sweetheart. Kathleen lives the closest to home being in Fort Worth, and Annalee has lived in New York as a filmmaker since she graduated from NYU in 2013. Before coming to work at FWCD, her connection to the school was through Annalee because she graduated from the school in 2009.
The Hursts are getting close to celebrating thirty-eight years together, and they could not be happier. Their story of how they met is a very peculiar one. Mrs. Hurst was looking for a job in Humble, Texas as a hostess, ad she went to many restaurants in the area for interviews. The only place she didn’t get a job at was Chili’s, and it just so happened to be the one where Mr. Hurst was the boss. When he didn’t hire her, she called back to the same Chili’s, and another woman hired her. Since they fell in love, the two lived in Humble for a while and later on moved to Fort Worth.
Hurst has some crazy stories about her childhood. When she was nine years old, her family moved into a house in Vicksburg, Mississippi, but it was far from a regular house. It was haunted, and it still is to this day. While living there, Hurst saw multiple ghosts including a woman standing in front of the mantle in her living room, and she was not the only one with these stories. Her mother could never keep a housekeeper hired for long because each of them would run straight out of the house after seeing a ghost.
“It was never scary for me, just surreal. A lot of people have always claimed to see ghosts in the house,” Hurst said.
Now, her childhood home is the infamous “Grey Oaks” in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and it is open to the public for spooky visits and more.
Here at Country Day Everyone has different experiences, but one thing is for sure, Hurst will be a part of everyone’s.
