At the end of this week, Seminole High School will lose our one and only Mrs. Courtney Doherty, our School Administration Manager, to Lyman High School. Mrs. Doherty became a part of our Tribe during the 2021-2022 school year, transferring over from Winter Springs where she was an International Baccalaureate (IB) coordinator and AP Literature teacher. Since then, she has become a friendly and familiar face for countless students and staff alike on campus. A fixture at both lunches, Mrs. Doherty always made sure to greet every one of her “kiddos” she formed a bond with.
Mrs. Doherty has worked for Seminole County Public Schools for nearly two decades, and is certainly no stranger to leadership roles in our county’s high schools. A UCF graduate, Mrs. Doherty started her career at Lake Howell High School in 2005 before switching over to Winter Springs High School (WSHS) in 2007. In her 14 years at WSHS, Mrs. Doherty made her way up the administrative ladder, becoming the school’s IB coordinator in 2019. With all of this experience from her previous positions, Mrs. Doherty came to Seminole two school years ago to continue her journey in education.
In her position, Mrs. Doherty also managed extracurricular activities and clubs at SHS, an undoubtedly important task considering just how many of them there are. Students often looked to Mrs. Doherty to establish clubs and coordinate activities both before and after school. Extracurriculars are a vital part of our community here at SHS, so Mrs. Doherty held a very important role in maintaining student life and culture. From well-known clubs like Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) and Business Professionals of America (BPA) to more underground clubs such as Gardening Club and Economics Club, Mrs. Doherty helped found and manage these student-run organizations. She’s worked closely with students during her time here, creating close relationships with them as they grew their clubs and planned club activities. She also coordinated several student-loved events that require lots of responsibility such as homecoming and prom.
Being part of our tight-knit school administration, Mrs. Doherty was a key component to management. Mrs. McCarter was full of praise for Mrs. Doherty, telling us that she was “one of the most accommodating administrators.” “She did discipline, she did the student parking, she did homecoming…she [was] homecoming. She’s kind, she’s funny, we’re gonna miss her for sure.” Mrs. Gray, who is Mrs. Doherty’s sister, told us that “every challenge [Mrs. Doherty] is presented with, she rises to and takes a little bit further, and applies her own personal touch to it. As a sister and a coworker, she is highly motivated and driven. She inspires and does a lot more than she is actually required to, because she has so much passion for what she does. So her moving from being a SAM (School Administration Manager) to an administrative assistant position [at Lyman], it has been a long time coming. She’s taking a step up– she’s making lateral moves.”
To say that Mrs. Doherty’s presence at Seminole will be dearly missed is an understatement. Her support and contributions to our school have not gone unappreciated. From all of us here at the Seminole Times and the Nole Nation, best of luck in all of your future endeavors Mrs. Doherty!