Staff Spotlight: Nora DeMesa of the Business Office

Welcome to Staff Spotlight! A new interview series where we highlight a staff member and learn more about what they are doing on and off campus. This week we chatted with Nora DeMesa, an accountant in the business department. Nora is always quick to reply to emails and eager to meet new faculty and staff. Read on for more about Nora!
 
Share a brief bio with us. That’s always the hardest part, what to include! I moved to the U.S. in 1984 with my family from the Philippines. I earned my Bachelor’s from the University of Santo Thomas, run by Dominican priests. Before I came here, I worked at Komatsu Industries and then Philippine Airlines as a credit analyst. I worked with aerospace and environmental companies before coming to Poly. I started at Poly in 1992. I was only planning to stay five years, but here I am 29 years later! I am married to Bien, a former Poly employee who worked at Poly for more than nine years. We have four sons and seven grandchildren. One of my sons is a dentist, Dr. Dennis, who many of the faculty and staff will know.
 
What do you do at Poly? I work with the accounting department under the accounts payable division. I do all the reimbursement and paying of the vendors, manage credit card holders, and handle the class funds grades K-12 and parent funds for grades 9-12. I help with the bookkeeping of various class funds, making deposits, doing their payables, and running reports. Every year they change the classroom chairperson, so I help them during the transition. I handled payroll for 27 years but I currently I just do the accounting part and preparing the journal entries for the general ledger.
 
What do you enjoy about your work? I love working with numbers and having personal interactions with my coworkers. Although we talk mostly about work, I love the interaction when we see each other in the hallway, stairs, or anywhere else. We share stories about family, what we do on weekends, or where we go on vacation. Everyone at Poly is very nice and always friendly. It’s a very nice feeling.
 
How can others at Poly support you? Most of the time everyone is very helpful in terms of my work. Maybe turning invoices or credit card statements on time [laughs].
 
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? Resting! I fully concentrate from Monday to Friday, and I pour myself into my work. On weekends I love cooking for my family. I have four sons, and they bring their families to my house. I try different recipes like Korean, Filipino, and Italian foods and let my family have a feast. I love it when they enjoy my cooking. I like driving to Redondo Beach, watching Lifetime movies and musical shows, and cleaning. I am very domestic.
 
What’s something you’ve watched or listened to lately that you’ve enjoyed? This weekend my kids and I watched I Care a Lot, a movie about a person who is trying to con senior citizens. It was a very nice but sad movie. I have also been enjoying Korean movies because the stories are engaging and don’t have too much violence or inappropriate content. 
 
Who would you like to compliment for their work at Poly? Everyone! Actually everyone. Everyone is doing their best to carry on with their duties and responsibilities despite this pandemic. Marcy for keeping us updated and informed about the pandemic, faculty and staff for continuing their work, operations for keeping us safe, and Poly for keeping our jobs as there are so many people who have lost their jobs in 2020. Everyone is still working hard and making sure Poly runs well. 
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