By BENJAMIN KLIEWER, Senior Reporter
Custodians receive matching shirts; supervisor praises team’s versatility
The full-time custodial staff of Northwestern received matching shirts on March 7 in appreciation for their work.
“I feel like I have a really good group of people,” custodial supervisor Debbie Anderson said. “Any time we have a big project to get done, this group of custodians is all willing jump in and get the job done.”
Each custodian is assigned to keep at least one building on campus clean, Anderson said. Each custodian is also responsible for at least part of another building, and some are assigned to take on two buildings.
All custodians can be moved to a different building if another custodian is out for the day or if a large project needs to be finished. This becomes a challenge, as the custodians are on their feet for eight to 10 hours per day, Anderson said.
One of the frustrations the custodians face is when people put small sacks of trash inside large trash cans instead of taking their trash outside to a dumpster, Anderson said.
Another frustration is when people walk across floors while custodians are trying to strip and wax them.
Then, the work has to be redone.
Summer break is about to start, but that doesn’t mean the custodians can slow down, Anderson said.
The summer is the busiest time of the year for janitorial staff because they work on projects they can’t complete during the school year, including dormitory cleanup and waxing floors throughout buildings.
TRY A LITTLE KINDNESS
Custodians sometimes feel like they are unappreciated, Anderson said. So, when custodians hear students say “Thank you” and “We appreciate what you are doing,” they’re delighted, Anderson said.
Anderson said she was recently encouraged by the kindness of a student. Anderson was on her hands and knees scraping a floor in the library while preparing to wax the floor. A student stopped and offered to help her.