There is much more to attendance secretary Dominique Henderson than meets the eye. To students at WJ, she is known as the friendly, “cool” woman who collects absent notes and hands out passes to latecomers.

But little do students know, to diners at the Cheesecake Factory in D.C., she is the polite waitress who takes their orders and makes sure their restaurant experience is pleasant.

While managing the attendance desk, coaching the JV cheerleading team for the fall season and waitressing, Henderson spends a lot of her time trying to make those around her comfortable. Yet more importantly, most of her care always goes to her three sons – Michael, 14, Thomas, 10, and Nico, five.

“My kids are everything,” said Henderson. “I just want to be a good mom to my kids.”

She says she brings a mother’s mentality to her work life, as she tends to treat a lot of students “as her own.” As a cheerleading coach, her warm compassion as a mom has particularly shined through

“[For] some of the girls, it just made their world that they were on the cheerleading squad and to see that was great,” she said. “That’s all I needed. Getting to know the kids on a different angle than attendance was so refreshing.”

Family has become very important to Henderson. After a series of hardships, she is grateful to have them in her life, talking to her mom, sister and aunt on a daily basis. Henderson credits her family with bringing her to where she is today.

Outside of school, Henderson is a self-described “therapy shopper.” She loves going to Old Navy and Macy’s to take a break from life’s stresses.

“I love to spend money,” she said. “I think that’s why I work so hard. I have a very high budget.”

Besides shopping, Henderson spends time watching movies, reading and watching T.V. From spending so much time with her sons, she describes herself as a “big kid” when it comes to movies and music. Her three boys have instilled in her a liking for most Shia LaBoeuf movies, including theTransformers saga and Eagle Eye. She also loves James Bond films.

To unwind from a long day of working two jobs, assisting students at the attendance desk and waiting on people, Henderson likes to watch a good detective show, such as “The Closer,” “Plain Sight” or “Lie to Me.” Once in a while, she’ll relax with a James Patterson or Nicolas Sparks novel.

Henderson loves to listen to her favorite music. Once an avid concert goer, she typically listens to popular music. Genres such as pop, rap and Christian rock make up a large part of her playlists. Jay-Z and Alicia Keys are among her favorite artists.

From chatting with students as they sign out to answering attendance questions, Henderson is extremely happy to be working at WJ since she came in the middle of Fall 2008.

“I just love my job here,” she said. “It’s a great school; a great county to work for. I’m very blessed.”

EDITOR’S NOTE
This article has been edited for content since its first posting.