A lifelong love

Stewart Sevier’s first day at Mountain Brook Elementary was in 1954, when she entered first grade. She then worked in the front office as an office helper in the sixth grade. Now, with grown children who have also passed through Mountain Brook Elementary’s doors, Sevier finds herself back in the front office. 

“It’s kind of like this was just where I was supposed to have been,” Sevier said. “I almost went back to nursing school, but I just decided not to, that I really liked it [at MBE].”

Sevier gets up at 4 a.m. each day before starting the morning shift at MBE’s front desk, where she said she aims to always be pleasant and understanding and “to make everybody feel welcome and safe.” 

Others who work at MBE recognize Sevier’s dedication to the position, as well as how her ability to multitask helps the school run smoothly. Adam Craiger, bookkeeper for MBE, works in the office next to Sevier’s desk and said she is a critical asset to the front office.

“She is as consistent as the sunrise, and everyone who works here or comes to know her quickly earns a heartfelt respect for her attitude, dedication and character,” Craiger said. “We call her our air traffic controller, because her attention to detail and ability to manage many tasks and people at the same time really saves our school community from epic fail on a daily basis.”

Sevier’s detailed knowledge of students, parents and teachers at the school is irreplaceable, said MBE Principal Ashley McCombs, and her strong work ethic and organizational skills are remarkable.

“Being part of the history of MBE as a student and engaging in its development over time makes Ms. Sevier’s position more than work — it makes it personal,” McCombs said. “She is able to continue her story and leave her mark here while at the same time helping guide others in the writings of their own stories of MBE.”

Sevier started her job as administrative assistant in 1989, after her kids had graduated Mountain Brook High School and left for college, and she hasn’t looked back.

“I just had one student out here looking at the old yearbooks and go, ‘Ms. Sevier, look how young you are,’” she said with a laugh. 

One of the best parts of the job, Sevier said, is hearing the completely candid things students will say and seeing how literally they sometimes take instruction. 

One day, Sevier said, she stopped to talk with a teacher in the hallway. The teacher had two young boys with her who had just been fighting. While she talked with Sevier, the teacher instructed the boys to “put their heads together” and figure out what the story behind their fighting was.

“I could tell she was getting tickled and trying not to laugh watching them, so I turned around, and their foreheads were literally touching, and their hands were on their hips, and they were fussing about who did what,” Sevier recalled.

Another time, Sevier remembers relieving a teacher for a few minutes and going over multiplication with students. When asked to solve 7 times 7, one girl responded “42.” After Sevier said, “No, higher,” the student repeated her same answer — just in a higher pitched voice.

“I wish from Day 1 that I had started a little notebook of all the cute things that had happened, because when you try to think back, they come sporadically,” she said. “But there’s some really great stories.”

These fun moments with students, in addition to the love felt by the MBE community, are some of the reasons why Sevier has remained. 

“It’s kind of like a big family, extended,” she said. “The staff’s great, and everybody is treated — the custodians, the lunchroom workers, the support group, the faculty — everybody is always included. I like that part, and of course the kids are adorable and make the day go by really fast.”

That family is something Sevier fits perfectly into, Craiger said. On any given day, she can serve wherever she is needed — PR agent, director of substitutes and visitors, office equipment technician, receptionist or any other necessary role, he said.

“In reality, Ms. Sevier is in many ways a matriarch of this school,” he said. “School administrators and teachers come and go, but Ms. Sevier has served here with a consistency and resolve that would make any organization wish they had a Stewart Sevier managing the day-to-day operations.”

Looking back on her time as an MBE student, then a parent and now an employee, Sevier said she has seen the community involvement grow. Sevier’s connection to the school and community has also cemented over time, Craiger said.

“It is so cute to see some of the grandparents come in who also attended school here with Stewart, the parents who came through the school here when she worked here, and their children who know Ms. Sevier as the ‘leader in the office,’” Craiger said. “She has seen the transformation of this school and community into the first-class institution that it is today, and in some ways, can be accredited for her part in it.”

Her work has helped add value to the school’s history and brings continuity to the campus, McCombs said.

“She is at the center of what keeps the family here at MBE thriving,” McCombs said. “Period.”

When it comes to retirement, Craiger said they discourage or refute any talk of Sevier leaving “in fear of the worst when she may seriously entertain that kind of thing.” But Sevier said that’s not part of her plan at this time.

“Everybody says, ‘When are you going to retire?’ and I say, ‘Three years ago,’” Sevier said, laughing. “Because that was my plan. At 65, I thought it was time, but here I am, still here.”