ASB sparks school spirit, bringing the student body together by organizing unique and memorable events like flag football, movie night, and the Winter Formal. But who stands behind the scenes of this organization?

Jocelyn South, the ASB Accounting Tech, handles the financial side of ASB. 

South has been in the finance industry for over 15 years, beginning her career when she was hired as the assistant to the general manager at the Carlsbad Beach Resort. Her supervisor taught her a lot about finance which made her fall in love with the career.  

She enrolled in a finance job with the city of Vista, however, she had to temporarily pause these ambitions to move to Okinawa, Japan, because of her husband’s active duty in the Marine Corps. 

Later as a new mother, South moved back to the US and was hired as an accounting tech for the Carlsbad Unified School District (CUSD).

However, she had to give up her career temporarily.

Because of the complexity of daycare for her son, South chose to stay at home and take care of her son.

Then a miracle happened. She had an opportunity to work for a new high school which corresponded well with her family life. In Jan. 2014, South got hired as ASB accounting tech at Sage Creek, marking the beginning of her journey that still continues to this day. 

South finds working at Sage Creek to be electric.

“The exciting part of my job is being here around you guys [students] [and] our amazing educators,” South said.

 Seeing the interaction between the educators and students made her want to become part of the staff, marking the start of her goal of becoming an ASB advisor. 

To reach her goal, in 2019 South decided to get her bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership at Arizona State University. When COVID-19 unexpectedly hit, South had to balance her work as an ASB finance tech, her work towards a bachelor’s degree, and keep up with family life, all at home.

“There was a time when I went a little crazy from all the stress of trying to balance it but keeping a good calendar and a good schedule and just saying no to things that are just extra [helped],” South said. 

Since Sage Creek staff and students worked from home for the majority of last year, ASB couldn’t put out any major events that serve as an entertainment and a fundraising source, which has led some to think that ASB has a low budget. 

South shared that ASB is in fact financially stable, they just don’t have as much money as before the shutdown since ASB was not able to have as many fundraisers as before. Sage Creek has a whole system of pre-purchase orders that organizes the spending. ASB spends only when they have money and does not use credit.

“We are not unstable by any means, none of our clubs are unstable,” South said.“We might not have as high balances as we would like but we definitely always will have enough money for what we pre-approved to spend on behalf of our student body.”  

Working at Sage means becoming involved in the community. South has built strong friendships with the staff and her kids enjoy bringing their own impact to the community. 

“My kids were here [at the flag football game] watching because I was playing, running around with Mrs. Hunter’s, one of my best friends, kids,” South said. “We are all friends, we like each other, which makes it amazing to come to work because I feel like I’m working with my friends.”

ASB organizes events, rallies, and giveaways to connect the students and staff and to create a fun and positive environment for the student body to grow, glow and have fun. 

“I feel so fortunate that I got this particular job in finance, doing what I love and also being at school,” South said. 

South started off from being inexperienced but passionate in a sphere that made her “sick to her stomach.”

The support of the people around her and her efforts allowed her to reach her goals of being involved in finance. She is a key part of the Sage Creek community; day after day she works hard to support and organize the ASB finances so that the Sage Creek community can enjoy and create warm memories of high school.