Michelle DiCamillo, office manager

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New office manager Michelle DiCamillo reviews papers and emails. DiCamillo is a new addition to the Oak Park High School staff (Olivia Magnani/Talon).

Michelle DiCamillo, a Tokyo-born book lover, is Oak Park High School’s newest office manager.

DiCamillo worked in the Brookside Elementary School office for the past 14 years. Before she settled in California, DiCamillo said she lived all over the place.

“I’m a military brat, so I grew up all over. I was born in Tokyo, Japan. I went to Kansas City. I went to South Carolina. I’ve been to Michigan, Wisconsin, here,” DiCamillo said.

DiCamillo has lived in California for the majority of her life.

“[I lived in] mostly California. California [is my favorite because of] the weather,” DiCamillo said.

After she moved to California, DiCamillo never left for long periods of time.

“I actually did not go to college. I took a correspondence college class at La Salle in Chicago to be an interior decorator,” DiCamillo said. “But in my day, you didn’t really need to go to college. Not like it is now.”

Since then, she has taken several college classes at California State University, Northridge in banking and business. Eventually, she began working at Brookside Elementary.

I like the district. I like the people, the staff. I like the parents. I like the kids,

— Michelle DiCamillo

“My daughter went to Brookside,” DiCamillo said. “I just volunteered all the time, and they said ‘Do you actually want to get paid for what you’re doing?’ So, I said okay.”

Outside of school, DiCamillo said she is an avid reader.

“I love vampire books; Anne Rice is my ultimate favorite. She writes the Vampire Chronicles,” DiCamillo said. “I do like to read Steven King.”

Although she loves California, DiCamillo said she would love to visit her birthplace.

“[I would] probably [like to travel to] Japan, because that’s where I was born. I lived there for three years, and I’ve never been back. Out of any place, I would go there,” DiCamillo said.

DiCamilla said she has worked a variety of jobs, but the one thing she loves are the students.

“What keeps me going here are the kids,” DiCamillo said. “High school is a lot different than Brookside, so the experience is not the same, but I do like it here. I like the district. I like the people, the staff. I like the parents. I like the kids.”