Whether it be for AP exam registration or reimbursements, students know that they can count on financial technician Judy Boehm to help them manage their finances. After 20 years of working at Lynbrook, Boehm has announced her retirement from this position following the 2021-22 school year.

Boehm is stepping down from her role with some reluctance, as recent issues with her eyesight have made fulfilling her job increasingly challenging. 

“My average day at work has changed a good bit for me because my vision is suffering, which is why I’m retiring,” Boehm said. “My vision really has gotten compromised and will not improve. At first, I thought it was just my glasses, but unfortunately, it isn’t.”

Prior to the beginning of her career at Lynbrook in 2001, Boehm worked at a publishing company. After the company moved offices from San Jose to Michigan, Boehm received a call from Lynbrook, asking if she was interested in working as the school’s financial technician. Already familiar with Lynbrook and its staff members because her own children were alumni, Boehm decided to take on the role. 

“I had already been very active with the PTSA and School Site Council,” Boehm said. “It was kind of like coming home to family because I still knew a lot of the staff and students.”

Overall, Boehm has positively impacted the lives of students through her work over the years and she fondly recalls helping students, past and present, manage finances for school events. 

“Mrs. Boehm is an absolute pleasure to be around,” ASB Treasurer Pranay Mamileti said. “She always has a smile on her face and is happy to discuss anything with ASB. She is always willing to set aside work she is doing to help us out with whatever we need, and that selflessness has been essential to ASB’s work. Her financial knowhow and general knowledge of different procedures and regulations have proved essential to ASB’s ability to function, and I know that she’s provided similar help to clubs and academic teams on campus as well.”

Boehm’s help and role at Lynbrook goes far beyond managing finances for individual students, as she meticulously organizes all financial needs for clubs, classes and school-related events while also offering advice for staff who oversee student clubs and classes. 

“When I was a club adviser and later a class adviser, Mrs. Boehm took care of all our financial needs,” Precalculus and AP Calculus AB teacher Sarah Kraemer said. “She’s so incredibly organized and helped us so much by just telling me how my club was doing in finances. When we had to order buses and other expensive things, she helped me organize the list for companies we could use. She manages all the money for every school or sporting event that students have and organizes all of our cash boxes. Her dedication and hard work for her job is so admirable, and she’s always so inviting to students and staff. Everytime I see her around campus, I just feel good.” 

Boehm will miss watching students graduate and the inclusive and positive attitudes of students on campus. 

“The student talents are just amazing on this campus,” Boehm said. “The difference between a regular accounting role someplace else is that you don’t have the interaction with students, and that’s one of the most gratifying parts of my job.”

Although she feels regretful about leaving the Lynbrook environment she has known for so long, Boehm has high hopes for Lynbrook’s next financial specialist and stresses the importance of prioritizing time-sensitive tasks. 

“Some student needs are more pressing than others,” Boehm said. “Learning to prioritize what needs to be done first, and still being responsive to what other students and staff need is important.” 

Boehm will be missed by students and staff she has worked with and helped throughout her career at Lynbrook. 

“I don’t know how I’m gonna function without her, just because she does so much for us,” Kraemer said. “She really is so organized, and there’s some people that you just don’t know how anyone would take over their role because they were so good at it. She’s just such a friendly face all the time, and she makes everyone feel so happy all the time. There’s going to be a void now and I’m gonna miss her, but I wish her the best in her retirement. I’m very happy for her.”

Her lasting impact on the school undoubtedly extends beyond just being known as a financial technician, as her unexceptional kindness for all staffers and students she has interacted with in the past 20 years has helped shape the positivity of Lynbrook as we know it today. 

“Mrs. Boehm’s impact on Lynbrook goes far beyond any help she provided as a financial technician,” Mamileti said. “Her smile, kindheartedness and general demeanor makes anyone who stops by her office smile, and she has contributed greatly to the increasingly open and positive attitude at Lynbrook.”