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Holladay Journal

Open house on May 15 will celebrate secretary’s retirement from Howard Driggs Elementary

May 09, 2024 12:40PM ● By Peri Kinder

Tanya Sargent, principal secretary at Howard R. Driggs Elementary, will retire at the end of the school year. The school’s PTA has organized a community open house on Wednesday, May 15, from 5-7 p.m. at the school (4340 S. 2700 East) to celebrate her retirement. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Gloeckner)

She’s been described as the “rockstar” the “heartbeat” and the “soul” of the school but principal secretary Tanya Sargent is set to retire at the end of the school year after working at Howard R. Driggs Elementary for 18 years and in Granite School District for 25 years. 

Kate Mooth, Howard Driggs PTA president, said Sargent is universally loved because of her kindness, loyalty and positive attitude, and will be deeply missed by the faculty, parents, staff and students. 

“She greets everyone with a friendly sincere warmth and love and knows every child and every family in our school,” Mooth said. “We have had great principals, but Tanya plays an enormous role in why families absolutely love Driggs. Tanya has not only been a tremendous help to me as a parent, she has truly become one of my dear friends.”

Sargent said her time at the school has been “magic.” Over the years, she’s worked with seven principals at Driggs and learned something new from each one. Her retirement is bittersweet because she loves her job and will miss seeing the students but she’s ready to move on to the next stage of her life.

“We’ve got three little grandsons, one that lives in Salt Lake and two that live in Texas, so we’ll be able to spend more time with everybody,” Sargent said. “This [job] has been so much fun. The community is totally amazing, the staff here is wonderful and the kids are exceptional.”

To celebrate Sargent’s retirement, the community is invited to attend an open house at Driggs Elementary (4340 S. 2700 East) on Wednesday, May 15 from 5-7 p.m. Families, former students and others touched by Sargent’s service are encouraged to stop by and wish her well.

“She’s the backbone of Howard R. Driggs,” said Stephanie Gloeckner, Driggs Elementary PTA communications chair. “She says hi to all the children as they come in for school and knows all the parents. She’s the one who helps with all the boo-boos and she’s just the bomb. She’s been contributing to our community for so long. We’re all heartbroken that she’ll be leaving but understand that she’s got some bigger, better things going on in her life.”

Mooth will miss Sargent’s glass-half-full personality that brought everyone together as a team. Gloeckner will miss seeing Sargent at the front desk every morning, greeting students and parents. Sargent will miss the everyday interaction with the people she has grown to love and watching the kids mature throughout their time at Driggs.

“I get to see their confidence grow,” Sargent said. “I get to see a kindness in every one of them. I see them do acts of service to each other so I truly get to see the best of every child here. I can tell you a sweet story about every student. They’re totally amazing and they will all make a difference in the world as they grow up.” λ