Wings Fall 09 - St. Scholastica Academy

A Good Foundation
Malise Prieto
C L A S S O F 1 9 7 6
ALUMNA PROFILE
By: Deborah Burst
Malise Prieto credits her success to her
strong scholastic training at SSA
She won the St.Tammany Parish Clerk of Court title in November
1995 after practicing 12 years of law during her mid thirties. Like
many of us, Malise Prieto draws on her early roots working in the
courthouse since the age of 13, burying her nose in record books
abstracting during her summer vacations from SSA. Upon
graduation in 1976, she attended LSU, then law school and
returned home to do what she loved.
“I can remember as a kid opening these books and seeing the
clerk’s signature on the documents and thinking that’s what I want
to do one day,” Malise says. “I love it…it’s a challenge every single
day.”
A born leader, she has served three terms and was elected to a
fourth term with no opposition. Chartering a new direction for the
Clerk of Court office, Malise has built a solid foundation based on
employee education and customer satisfaction. Employees are
provided uniforms and name tags promoting employee pride,
confidence, accountability and recognition from the public. The
professional image continues throughout the departments with
strict attention to details.Walls are draped with European artwork,
unsigned canvases from art schools in Europe. A cohesive team,
each floor, department and employee work as partners serving
their fellow coworkers and customers.
A legacy of seven generations of Prietos on the Northshore, Malise
is committed to building a strong community. She attended the
1997 St. Tammany West Leadership class, was instrumental in
building the St. Tammany Trace and forged the way for a new
courthouse. Five officials including Malise braved the political
naysayers and pushed for more taxes to build the Justice Center.
From a hodgepodge of buildings scattered throughout the
downtown Covington area, the Clerk of Court’s office joined the
Assessor’s and Sheriff’s office moving into the new building in 2003.
“It took us three weeks but we never closed to the
public…everyone jokes and says we went from the outhouse to
the penthouse,” laughs Malise.
Another responsibility of the Clerk of Court office is managing
elections and the poll commissioners. Recognizing the challenge of
recruiting poll commissioners to support a voting population of
153,000, the state legislature opened the positions to high school
seniors. A huge push was put into place by Malise and her staff
visiting high schools across the parish. SSA offered their cafeteria for
the six hour class, welcoming seniors and in some cases their
parents. It provides initiative, good communication skills and a way
to make some extra money. Many graduates are adding the
position to their resumes and college applications.
“They learn about the election process, the voting machine and
hopefully voting will be a normal part of their adult life,” says Malise.
“They add so much energy and the other commissioners love
having them.”
10 D O V E W I N G S
Clerk of Court, Prieto.
Prieto as a SSA student.
With 158 precincts, Becky Galatas ‘76, the election coordinator,
reports there are 970 active commissioners. They had a very
successful campaign certifying 40 SSA seniors last year. As they
graduate and move on to college, some retire while others
continue their commissioner duties. Becky recognizes one SSA
student in particular.
“Vicitoria Doskey worked every election since certification,” says
Becky commenting she’s now a student at LSU. “They’re not
intimidated by technology.”
A mover and shaker, Malise stays active in the community and a
leader in motivating others to volunteer. Every year the entire Clerk
of Court office supports a different charity. Recently they selected
the food bank and SSA assisted in the effort collecting food, moving
boxes and working inside the food bank building.
With roughly 63 graduates in SSA’s class of ’76, the group holds a
collection of independent thinkers and hard-working professionals
who meet for dinner about every 6 weeks. Many have moved back
home from out of state and some travel from out of town for the
dinners.They come together to support each other, in good times
and bad.
“We’ve gone through all kinds of personal challenges,” says Malise.
“Our class is there for each other.”
Malise says a good part of her success is due to her education at
both Our Lady of the Lake and Saint Scholastica Academy. She
attributes her foundation in writing as the key element in
completing law school.
“I was lucky enough to have Sister Jeanne d’Arc and Alyce O’Brien
for honors English,” says Malise.“They helped me so much with my
writing skills, I could put my thoughts down, it made law school a
breeze.”
But Malise admits there was more to SSA than English. A well
rounded program that not only helped her get where she is today
but forged a path in gaining personal goals.
“I will cherish forever Olive Hendry,” says Malise who loves to travel
abroad. “She taught me French which led me to my passion, I still
use it as my second language and it prepared me for college.”