Unsung Heroes: Mrs. Galbavy
Photo from Hamilton School District.
Sienna Kenney
Continuing the Charger Press article series “Unsung Heroes,” Mrs. Jenny Galbavy has been selected as the final celebrated Hamilton employee of 2024.
Jenny Galbavy is our school nurse here at Hamilton High School. She regularly helps the student body with injuries, sicknesses, medications, and much more. She first started working for the school district in 2013, both at Woodside and Templeton Middle School, before coming to the high school at the end of 2017. Her two children are graduates of Hamilton High School.
For college, Mrs. Galbavy attended Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC). She had a terrific experience there, noting that “MATC has some amazing programs to offer, especially with someone who needs to work full time but still wants to continue their education.”
“The health room can be a pretty busy place,” states Mrs. Galbavy. Her day-to-day job varies, but includes helping students who need to go home sick, rest, or take medication. Some of her more behind-the-scenes work includes running reports on immunizations and medications to keep everything up to date and accurate. She also helps prepare the emergency field trip bag for any teacher taking students on field trips to make sure that health issues are addressed and emergency medication is packed.
Fortunately for Hamilton, Mrs. Galbavy loves her job! “Getting to know the students from freshman year until graduation is fun to watch as they move on to the next chapter in their life; it warms my heart to see their transformation to adulthood. This is always the hardest part for me—to say goodbye!”
As a special thank you to celebrate Mrs. Galbavy, here are some quotations collected from students and teachers that show her immense positive impact on the Hamilton community:
She was super nice to me when needing to keep a place for my ice pack after ACL surgery.
Whenever I go down to the nurses office to talk to Ms. G just because I enjoy talking to her. She is very supportive and caring towards others. She always listens to me rant when I need to. Ms. G is an extremely caring person and I enjoy talking to her every morning.
Whenever I'm not feeling well, she gives me her best opinion on whether or not I should go home and does everything in her power to encourage me to stay at school like suggesting resting or having medicine brought in to see if I can last the rest of the day.
Saying “Good morning” to Jenny each morning as she walks the halls before school starts is the best start to my day!
Nurse Jenny has never failed to brighten my day. She always sees me at my worst, or when I'm in a ton of pain, but always finds a way to make me smile and feel a little bit better. Nurse Jenny brings so much joy to the health room, and makes a dark place a little brighter.
Jenny is a wonderful colleague who communicates so well with Hamilton staff. She stops by classrooms to check in on kids, phones teachers to remind students to take their medication, and makes sure that kids are held accountable by going right back to class. She’s a treasure!
Mrs. Galbavy is a wonderfully kind and caring person. She's like the school mom who can take care of us when we're at our worst; she makes things infinitely better just by her genuine, caring nature.
It was my freshman year of high school when we were playing tag and I got bodied by a football player. When I got shoved, I smacked my head on the ground of the little gym. When I went to the health room she was very concerned but also very supportive by asking if I needed anything, giving me an ice pack, and letting me stay in the health room to recover.
Jenny is extremely welcoming and kind to all students no matter the circumstance. She makes everyone feel safe at school and ensures that students have a place to go when facing any issue
I once had a student faint in class and I completely panicked. Jenny was such a calming presence in reassuring me and helping me stay calm in the moment to do what was best for that student.
She is just always kind and welcoming when I come into the health room, no matter the circumstance.
I see Mrs. G. every day to take my daily medication. She’s awesome to talk to and genuinely cares about me and what’s going on in my life.
When I was very sick and ended up going to the ER, she made sure to check in with me when I got back to school and was genuinely interested in my wellbeing.
Ms. Jenny was so sweet when I was hurting and was very supportive, but also was making me laugh to take my mind off of my head.
Years ago, staff at Hamilton really had no good space for new moms returning to work and wanting to continue breastfeeding babies. Jenny let me use the health room after school to avoid any awkward encounters and have a safe space.
She was very caring when I hurt my ankle and made sure to take care of me.
I had accidentally twisted my knee during class and she was a very calm presence and was really nice and helpful while I was in pain.
Check out our other articles in this series:
