If you run into Sierra Purnell somewhere, she’s likely to smile.
Good humor comes naturally to Purnell, although this mother of four is pretty busy these days.
She works as a clerk in the technology department at the office of the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District and as a convenience store clerk. And, when she has a minute, you might find her making scrapbook calendars for herself and her children.
The calendars seem to suit her. They are bright, decorative tools for keeping life orderly, and Purnell said she likes to keep things in place. That’s a good attribute for a person working in an office.
“I like to put things, files and stuff, in place together,” Purnell said the other day. “That’s what I like to do. I like to organize.”
“I always wanted to be a secretary,” she explained.
Purnell, 32, grew up in Greenwood, graduated from Greenwood High School and earned an associate’s degree from Mississippi Delta Community College. Among her jobs over the years has been at a Subway restaurant, which taught her a good bit about providing for customers.
“I had to build up customer-service experience,” she said. It’s about listening, being prompt and polite and “showing positive energy,” she said.
That works well for her and the customers at the Shell station on West Claiborne Avenue, where folks coming in and out expect pleasant, quick and accurate service. Purnell’s been working there for a couple of months.
“This is my first time working at a convenience store,” she said, explaining that she took the job to help stretch her income between getting paid each month by the school district. “Sometimes it takes more than one check these days,” Purnell said.
Of course, there are plenty of financial demands with three sons and one daughter in her care. The children are sons Jaden, 13; Marcus, 6, and Kenny, 2, and daughter Simari, 10.
What does she do for fun? “I like to do crafts,” Purnell said, and no surprise, she looked up and smiled.
- Contact Susan Montgomery at 581-7241 or smontgomery@gwcommonwealth.com.
