Betty Valenzuela NUEVO - Nuview Union School District Superintendent Jay Hoffman can't say enough good things about his administrative assistant, Betty Valenzuela. On Friday, Valenzuela retired after 26 years as Nuview's administrative assistant to the superintendent. Betty Valenzuela says that retirement after 26 years as the administrative assistant to the Nuview Union School District superintendent will allow her to travel more as well as ride, train and show horses with her husband. Valenzuela, 59, worked for three superintendents during her time with the school district, and it seems she made quite an impression during her decades of service. In 1979, when Valenzuela relocated onto 3 , acres of land in Nuevo from Norco with her husband and four children, the district turned her down the first time she applied for a job.But fortunately for the district, a second job opened soon thereafter, and Valenzuela jumped on it. Twenty-six years later, the job is open again. "I've made so many very, very close friends here," said Valenzuela, as she reflected on her career last week from her office."But I just feel like it's a new chapter in my life." Valenzuela is originally from Buchanan, Mich., about 10 miles north of South Bend, Ind.She moved away from home at age 18 and went to Minneapolis to enroll in airline and secretarial training.From there, Valenzuela worked 11 years at the old Western Airlines, where she worked first in reservations and then in accounting. While working for the airline, she relocated to Southern California and worked near Los Angeles International Airport.In 1977, she moved with husband Adolph "Squeak" Valenzuela to Norco, and then to Nuevo in 1979. When she saw a job opening with the school district, just a few blocks from her house, and with her son Anthony about to enter the first grade, applying was a no-brainer, she said. "I think the reason I stayed so long is the convenience," Valenzuela said."It's so close to home, and there's a variety of things going on.Every day is something new." Valenzuela didn't just work for the school district. She has been an active and recognizable member of the community for years.Nuevo residents frequently see her around town picking up trash, pulling weeds and removing graffiti. She also likes to knit and read, and she wakes up every morning at 5 a.m. to exercise. Now that she's retired, to fill her newfound free time, she said she and Squeak will do a lot of traveling and continue to ride, train and show their horses.And maybe, just maybe, Valenzuela will sleep in a bit later. "I told my husband already I'd like to sleep past five o'clock," she said.