Mrs. Tremolada: the open and friendly face that sits to the far right of the office desk and greets students, parents, and teachers alike every day. Driving in her yellow cars, she arrives with a warm and welcoming smile because “you can’t be sad when you’re driving a yellow vehicle.” Lynn Tremolada has been working at Terra Linda High School for almost 19 years as the Administrative Assistant to Mrs. Dunlap. In this position, she makes sure Mrs. Dunlap can do her job most efficiently and that both students and teachers are getting the attention they need during school.
Before working at Terra Linda, Lynn’s family owned a vending machine company. But at the time, her father in law was retiring resulting in the company to being sold. This left her without a job. Once Lynn’s daughter (at the time, a senior at Terra Linda), heard her mom didn’t have a job, she went to Terra Linda’s then assistant principal and signed her mom up for an interview saying that she knew someone who was great with kids. After landing the job, Lynn started out as an instructional assistant and as the athletic secretary, working two jobs a day.
Lynn truly loves her job and working with kids but hates when June comes and everyone leaves for the summer. Over the years, the one thing she saw change was “the dynamic of the school. There’s a lot more diversity as far as the student the population.” One thing she wishes she could change would be the bell schedule or getting the week of Thanksgiving off.
Her advice to incoming freshman is, “Don’t be afraid to come into the office if you need anything—ask for help […] there are lots of people, students, and staff who are willing to help you.” And for seniors, “Make a difference. Don’t just be a person in the crowd. Make a difference in the world.”
Lynn loves the color yellow so much that for her first car she bought a yellow Zion in 2005. Her second car, a yellow truck, was bought by her husband, Douglas, as a present when she was having a hard time. He wanted to make her happy and she said, “well, you know, I would really love to have a yellow truck.” So, when she came home from work one day, he met her outside, telling her to turn back toward the road. When she turned, she found herself watching a bright yellow truck coming around the corner.
Lynn lives with her two children and husband of 36 years. She grew up very “old-fashioned and… really just wanted to get married and have kids—have a family.” Her dream came true with her two children and loving husband. She has a daughter who is 35 years old and a son who is 32 years old. Both of her children went to Terra Linda while Lynn went to Saint Rafael’s and San Rafael High School when she grew up. Her favorite teacher was a creative writing teacher she had in high school all four years. When she’s not working, Lynn loves to go to the movies and travel. She has visited all 50 states and is happy that she lives in this one since it holds her favorite high school and favorite place of work.