Meet 2024 Monmouth County ESP of the Year Erika Kerwin
Erika Kerwin smells success every day. As the building secretary at The Culinary Education Center, which is part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District, her office is next to the school’s working bakery and restaurant.
“The bakery smells amazing, and the students are so excited to have you try what they’ve made,” Kerwin laughs.
After a career in corporate America, Kerwin finds herself reveling in the community spirit of the school. She looks after the students the way she has guided her own daughters, now in their 20s, and both graduates of the Monmouth County Vocational School District Academy of Allied Health and Science. Kerwin sings the praises of the district and the students’ accomplishments in a regular newsletter highlighting information and achievements that goes out to more than 400 subscribers.
“The newsletter is really a bridge to the community,” Kerwin says. “We share information on what’s going on at the school—open houses, pictures, if we have guest speakers. We highlight the students’ achievements such as honor roll. We talk about special events and what new things are going on at the restaurant and bakery.”
Kerwin found herself in the spotlight when she was announced as the 2024 Monmouth County ESP of the Year.
“It was so exciting to find out that I was named the Monmouth County ESP of the Year,” Kerwin recalls. “I love my job and the people I work with. We’re a small school community, but we’re close knit and the kids are wonderful. There are a lot of characters. They’re all very unique.”
Kerwin is responsible for managing attendance twice a day since they are a shared time school. Now in her eighth year in education, Kerwin also provides office support and enjoys doing communications, including the newsletter, social media and more.
Kerwin keeps busy as the vice president of the Monmouth County Vocational Education Assocation and the head of the scholarship committee. In addition, she has been coaching youth soccer for more than 17 years, although she took a break in the spring thanks to an increasingly busy schedule.
“When I worked in corporate America, I dreaded going to work, but now I love my job and being around the kids. It’s a fun job!”
Kerwin knows the value of union membership and is working to educate others of the many benefits.
“I want to get us more involved in what’s going on in our union,” Kerwin says. “I’m on the negotiations team, but I’m one voice. Other secretaries need to get more involved if we’re going to change things. That’s the only way that we’re going to get our voice out there—we need to show a united front.”