Betsy Van Cleve is one of the more popular staff who roams the halls of Benilde-St. Margaret’s. Her role as the Director of Senior High Admissions includes various tasks throughout the day, where she gets to know each and every student in the building. After graduating in 2006 and working at BSM for a total of eight years, she knows her way around pretty well. Let’s take a look at what a day in the life of Betsy Van Cleve looks like.
A day in the life of Van Cleve is not so typical. Every day her schedule looks a bit different. Her day could be anywhere from doing tours, checking in day visitors, spending time in her office, or to being out of the school presenting BSM to elementary schools. During her days, she tries to be as welcoming and outgoing as she can be to possible students and visitors. You can always see Van Cleve greeting students in the hallways or just talking with them about their day. Her favorite part of her day is seeing all the smiling faces in the hallways every day and getting to interact with the students and staff. Her least favorite part of her day is sitting in her office answering emails, as she would much rather engage with students and staff. “If you see me and you find me in my office, it’s not my favorite time of day,” said Van Cleve.
If you see me and you find me in my office, it’s not my favorite time of day.”
— Betsy Van Cleve
Something fun she tries to incorporate every day is the “Question of the Day.” She puts a unique question on the whiteboard in her office and students can write their answers on the board for candy in return. This question is usually something that anyone can answer no matter their interest. For example, a previous question of the day was, “Who is your favorite athlete or famous person?” This way students who may not be as into sports can still answer based on a successful person in a different field of work that interests them. A lot of students participate in this because they get a chance to talk to Betsy Van Cleve about their day and receive candy after answering the question.
After school, Betsy Van Cleve is still very busy. She tries to go to the gym four days a week and participates in marathon training, mountain biking, and Nordic skiing throughout the year. Her goal is always to stay active outside of school no matter the time of year. She does occasionally enjoy relaxing in her pajamas while watching TV. Her current favorite shows include The Office and Emily in Paris, and her go-to favorite movie is How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. When in doubt she can never go wrong with a classic 90s or 2000s rom-com. “I’ll be diving into those in my jammies,” said Van Cleve.
After some fast facts, we got to learn a bit more about Van Cleve’s favorite things in and out of school. When she is too busy to pack her own lunch you can find her at Taher getting her favorite meal, the spicy chicken sandwich. Although she tries her best to pack nutritious food to fuel her throughout the day, this is something she simply can’t resist. We were also able to take a walk with Van Cleve around her favorite room in the building, the Haben Center. Van Cleve loves this area as it is the most school-spirited place and holds a lot of memories for her. When she attended BSM back in the day, she remembered loving the pepfests, as everyone was able to come together to celebrate. “I really loved when I was a Red Knight being in the Haben. I think that it’s still the most spirited space in the building,” said Van Cleve.
Her best advice to incoming Red Knights after coming together with the community, is to learn the ways of the building. Van Cleve thinks one of the best tips and tricks about BSM is to know shortcuts in the halls. This can look like just knowing where all the hallways begin and end. Being able to skip one hallway and go to the other can help students to become more efficient. The faster you can get around the less likely you will be late to class, resulting in a better overall experience at the school.
I wouldn’t have come back to BSM to work here and be part of the community if I didn’t love the people.”
— Besty Van Cleve
Van Cleve’s favorite part about BSM is the overall community. When she comes into BSM every day she feels welcomed by the staff and students. She also feels like BSM is a community where everyone can get involved in many different ways. From her time at BSM in high school and coming back to work here, she’s made many lifelong friendships that drew her back to this school. She also loves the school spirit BSM has to offer. You can see her at many different sports games throughout the year cheering on the Red Knights. No matter the sport or opponent you can see her there rooting for each and every student on the team. Many people describe Van Cleve as having more school spirit than anyone else around. “I wouldn’t have come back to BSM to work here and be part of the community if I didn’t love the people,” said Van Cleve.