It was 6:00 in the morning on morning on May 11 and PTSO Co-president Carolyn Doles was fixing breakfast for teacher appreciation week in the staff lounge when she received a call from superintendent Cary Matsuoka. Matsuoka told Doles she has been given the award of Volunteer of the Year.

“He seemed to think the award was most befitting at that point, since when he called to tell me, here I was volunteering at SHS that very moment!” said Doles.
According to Matsuoka, principal Jeff Anderson nominated Doles. The new award will be similar to the Teacher of the Year in that it rotates between the two high school campuses each year. This year was Saratoga High School’s turn.

“Well, I was quite surprised—as you can imagine-since—usually the PTSO president is always asking others to volunteer,” said Doles. “It’s certainly not an award you plan on receiving at the end of your tenure.”

Doles has been heavily involved in Saratoga High for the past two years. Last year, she coordinated the Every Fifteen Minutes, an anti-drunk driving event. She was also the Homecoming representative for the freshmen and juniors this year. She chaired a “Just Do It” Reception, helped start Safe Rides this year with students and was recently elected to School Site Council. Doles also was the primary helper for junior prom, coordinator for teacher appreciation, sports booster liaison for cheer and the hospitality chair for Career Day.

“If it’s for the kids, I’d pretty much work on it. I tend to be the go-to girl for lots of little things in lots of areas for SHS and I enjoy it very much,” said Doles. “All our parents give a lot to our school in many capacities. We’re so lucky to have them as all these jobs take lots of effort.”