Alexis Doling on her role as Administrative Coordinator, her dog, and her love of learning | Humans of Catlin Gabel
By Priya Klein ‘26
Alexis Doling outside the Dant Building.
Photo by Priya Klein ‘26
Going on her fourth year as the Upper School’s administrative coordinator, Alexis Doling has properly solidified herself as the go-to person for help in the Upper School. Whether you need to find a teacher, report a planned absence, or just need a pick-me-up piece of candy, she’s the person who knows where to go, who to ask, and how to make things happen.
On the daily, Doling’s work consists of lots of questions, phone calls, scheduling, and problem-solving. She manages attendance, coordinates substitute teachers, and arranges meetings for administrators–all while simultaneously fielding a steady stream of students and staff who stop by her desk with questions and requests. “I get compared to a human Google or like a human switchboard a lot,” Doling laughed.
She started working at Catlin Gabel School in November of 2021, meaning this year marks her fourth school year in the community. In that time, she’s become one of the people who keeps the place running. Oftentimes, if Doling is out sick, attendance “doesn’t get checked as regularly” and incorrect room scheduling can “mess things up a lot.”
While her role can be stressful, Doling holds a genuine love for her work, especially the people. When asked about her favorite part about the role, Doling asserted that it’s “definitely the community and the people.”
Working with students isn’t new for Doling either. “I’ve always wanted to work with kids, and for a really long time, I thought I wanted to be a teacher, and then in college, when I started working in classrooms and stuff, I realized that was too exhausting for me,” Doling noted.
She believes she found the perfect sweet spot in the administration office.
Outside of work, she loves to read and spends much of her free time with her dog, Miso, a half Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, half Bichon Frisé who, despite her fancy breed, is definitely not fancy. “Her breed sounds so pretentious,” Doling joked. “But, like, she’s not fancy. She’s the laziest dog in the world.”
Doling also sees herself as a lifelong learner–the kind of person who teaches herself new skills just for fun. In high school, she even taught herself to code in HTML. “It’s not as fancy as it sounds,” she said modestly.
This approach to learning comes in handy when Doling has to problem-solve in her role. “Whenever like something new gets thrown at me, my first instinct is kind of just like to take a stab at it and then like a Google tutorial,” Doling explained.
Her curiosity extends far beyond hobbies though. She loves to travel and dreams of visiting every country someday, especially Norway, Finland, and Sweden. And while she can’t join the school’s global trips (someone needs to be on campus to handle emergencies), she finds fulfillment in being the calm, capable person others turn to when things get hectic.
So next time you read the Daily Bulletin, grab a Dum-Dum from the office, or are marked present, be sure to take a second and appreciate the Administrative Coordinator who made all of those things happen.