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Meet the Department: F&M Custodial Services

Staff Council is proud to spotlight F&M departments and professional staff in Bell & Tower, a weekly newsletter for the faculty and professional staff of Franklin & Marshall College. We hope these spotlights will reveal some of the tremendous work being done by professional staff across campus, chip away at existing silos, and help you gain an understanding and appreciation of the varied ways in which your colleagues contribute to the mission of the College each day.   Do you want your department to be in the spotlight? We invite you to share stories and information about your teams via this form. Did you know that F&M Custodial Services began as a student movement? Custodial services had previously been outsourced to various businesses, with many custodians having worked on campus for years through various contractors. Our students felt there was an opportunity to build an internal custodial team and officially bring this group of dedicated employees into the F&M community as professional staff. On January 1, 2014, Team Clean became part of the F&M community they had been serving for so long. “That day in January 2014 when I started the shift meetings for first, second and third shift, I was surrounded by the smiling faces of smart and hard-working people that felt that they were now part of a great community,” said Enrique Sotomayor, custodial manager. Since then, F&M Custodial Services has been serving the campus community to the highest standard of cleanliness and sanitation. There are around 50 members of Team Clean, including two managers and three lead supervisors. Team Clean works across three shifts and is present at F&M 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and every day of the year. Even when F&M is closed for holidays, Team Clean remains on campus. F&M Custodial Services has a high and steady rate of retention, with many staff who began in January 2014 still working at the College today. “I attribute that to feeling part of the community and the pride and care they feel toward their work on campus,” Sotomayor said. Sotomayor added that Team Clean is one of the most diverse departments on campus, with staff coming from Nepal, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Honduras, and Mexico. “Our international staff also has a vast educational background in teaching, nursing, engineering, law, and other professions,” Sotomayor said. “They bring their life experiences to our campus and have found pride in their work again with Team Clean.”We spoke with first-shift custodians Damary Luis, Iris Diaz, and Jesús López to learn more about them, the department, and their roles. This interview was translated from Spanish by their supervisor, Sotomayor. What are your main responsibilities at F&M? There are three shifts in the custodial department, each with different responsibilities:First shift, 7:30 a.m. — 3:30 p.m.Covers residence halls and non-residential areas that are essential for students, such as the libraries. During the academic year, residence hall responsibilities include common areas and bathrooms. During the summer, when camps utilize the campus space, they clean the rooms more often, almost like a hotel cleaning schedule. They also clean out the rooms before new F&M students arrive at the end of August. Second shift, 4 p.m. — 12:30 p.m.Covers administrative and athletic buildings. Third shift, 10 p.m. — 6:30 a.m.Covers academic buildings. All custodians disinfect and clean their assigned spaces. Some have more nuanced work such as cleaning before, during, and after internal or external events on campus; carpet cleaning and finishing floors; high dusting; cleaning upholstery on campus furniture; and cleaning after a flood. What’s something you wish others understood about your role? Damary, Iris, and Jesús emphasized how vital the custodial role is at the College. Without this team, students and employees would not have a clean, safe, and comfortable place to live and work. All three said their goal is to ensure everyone on campus feels they’re in a beautiful and sanitary place. They said they treat F&M like it’s their own home and families using the spaces. Damary, Iris, and Jesús explained that being a custodian is a tough position for which you have to be skilled, hard-working, and intelligent. Iris noted there are a lot of smart people on the team who held different positions before moving to the U.S., and that many F&M custodians have bachelor’s or master’s degrees in education, nursing, and veterinary science. The custodial team also forms close relationships with students, often being invited to commencement to celebrate the end of students’ F&M journeys. They said they really care about students and give their all to make F&M a good experience for them. And while students don’t always understand the importance of the custodial role, Damary said many parents have approached the team to thank them for their hard work. As a parent herself, Iris said she hopes when her son goes to college he’ll go to a clean and safe place like F&M. What’s your favorite part of your job? Damary, Iris, and Jesús all agreed that F&M’s benefits are their favorite part of their role. They added that while the pay rate may not be as high as they wish, all three feel the team is a family. They noted they feel trusted and empowered by their supervisors, Damary explaining she comes back for supervisors who understand and support her. Iris added that she feels inspired to do a good job for her managers. Iris and Jesús said that they also both enjoy cleaning. Even though they face messes every day — some particularly worse than others — they both mentioned the satisfaction of taking something messy and returning it to a shining state. Jesús also said he enjoys Dipnic and the professional staff luncheons because he likes to meet and interact with people from other departments. Tell us more about yourself. Damary Damary is from Cuba. Her husband and son are her only family in the U.S., though she considers the custodial department her family as well. She loves Netflix, hispanic food, and dancing. Her son is going to Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) for two years before moving on to F&M or Millersville University. She added that she enjoyed the half-day Fridays over the summer and hopes the College does them again next year. Iris Iris is from El Salvador and enjoys making and selling pupusas, a traditional dish from El Salvador. She said she has a really smart 6-year-old son with whom she likes to take for ice cream and watch Disney movies. Iris said she doesn’t have any other family in the U.S. and she’s excited to visit them soon. Iris added that she enjoys seeing the diversity of students on campus. With an autistic son, she feels she can understand the students and do her best to create a good experience for them. Jesús Jesús is from Puerto Rico and has three kids. He said he works hard for his kids and family, so he can provide them with whatever they need so they can have a good future. He said his daughter is going to the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design for photography. Jesús added that he likes Netflix, sports, going to the gym, and Puerto Rican food. He especially loves preparing food for other people to enjoy.
[object Object] | Tue, Jan 31, 2023

Staff Council is proud to spotlight F&M departments and professional staff in Bell & Tower, a weekly newsletter for the faculty and professional staff of Franklin & Marshall College. We hope these spotlights will reveal some of the tremendous work being done by professional staff across campus, chip away at existing silos, and help you gain an understanding and appreciation of the varied ways in which your colleagues contribute to the mission of the College each day.  

Do you want your department to be in the spotlight? We invite you to share stories and information about your teams via this form.
 

Did you know that F&M Custodial Services began as a student movement? Custodial services had previously been outsourced to various businesses, with many custodians having worked on campus for years through various contractors. Our students felt there was an opportunity to build an internal custodial team and officially bring this group of dedicated employees into the F&M community as professional staff. On January 1, 2014, Team Clean became part of the F&M community they had been serving for so long. 

“That day in January 2014 when I started the shift meetings for first, second and third shift, I was surrounded by the smiling faces of smart and hard-working people that felt that they were now part of a great community,” said Enrique Sotomayor, custodial manager. 

Since then, F&M Custodial Services has been serving the campus community to the highest standard of cleanliness and sanitation. There are around 50 members of Team Clean, including two managers and three lead supervisors. Team Clean works across three shifts and is present at F&M 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and every day of the year. Even when F&M is closed for holidays, Team Clean remains on campus. 

F&M Custodial Services has a high and steady rate of retention, with many staff who began in January 2014 still working at the College today. 

“I attribute that to feeling part of the community and the pride and care they feel toward their work on campus,” Sotomayor said.

Sotomayor added that Team Clean is one of the most diverse departments on campus, with staff coming from Nepal, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Honduras, and Mexico.

“Our international staff also has a vast educational background in teaching, nursing, engineering, law, and other professions,” Sotomayor said. “They bring their life experiences to our campus and have found pride in their work again with Team Clean.”  

We spoke with first-shift custodians Damary Luis, Iris Diaz, and Jesús López to learn more about them, the department, and their roles. This interview was translated from Spanish by their supervisor, Sotomayor.

What are your main responsibilities at F&M?

There are three shifts in the custodial department, each with different responsibilities: 

  • First shift, 7:30 a.m. — 3:30 p.m.

    • Covers residence halls and non-residential areas that are essential for students, such as the libraries.

    • During the academic year, residence hall responsibilities include common areas and bathrooms. During the summer, when camps utilize the campus space, they clean the rooms more often, almost like a hotel cleaning schedule. They also clean out the rooms before new F&M students arrive at the end of August. 

  • Second shift, 4 p.m. — 12:30 p.m.

    • Covers administrative and athletic buildings.

  • Third shift, 10 p.m. — 6:30 a.m.

    • Covers academic buildings.

All custodians disinfect and clean their assigned spaces. Some have more nuanced work such as cleaning before, during, and after internal or external events on campus; carpet cleaning and finishing floors; high dusting; cleaning upholstery on campus furniture; and cleaning after a flood.

What’s something you wish others understood about your role?

Damary, Iris, and Jesús emphasized how vital the custodial role is at the College. Without this team, students and employees would not have a clean, safe, and comfortable place to live and work. All three said their goal is to ensure everyone on campus feels they’re in a beautiful and sanitary place. They said they treat F&M like it’s their own home and families using the spaces. 

Damary, Iris, and Jesús explained that being a custodian is a tough position for which you have to be skilled, hard-working, and intelligent. Iris noted there are a lot of smart people on the team who held different positions before moving to the U.S., and that many F&M custodians have bachelor’s or master’s degrees in education, nursing, and veterinary science.

The custodial team also forms close relationships with students, often being invited to commencement to celebrate the end of students’ F&M journeys. They said they really care about students and give their all to make F&M a good experience for them. And while students don’t always understand the importance of the custodial role, Damary said many parents have approached the team to thank them for their hard work. As a parent herself, Iris said she hopes when her son goes to college he’ll go to a clean and safe place like F&M. 

What’s your favorite part of your job?

Damary, Iris, and Jesús all agreed that F&M’s benefits are their favorite part of their role. They added that while the pay rate may not be as high as they wish, all three feel the team is a family. They noted they feel trusted and empowered by their supervisors, Damary explaining she comes back for supervisors who understand and support her. Iris added that she feels inspired to do a good job for her managers.

Iris and Jesús said that they also both enjoy cleaning. Even though they face messes every day — some particularly worse than others — they both mentioned the satisfaction of taking something messy and returning it to a shining state. Jesús also said he enjoys Dipnic and the professional staff luncheons because he likes to meet and interact with people from other departments. 

Tell us more about yourself.

Damary

Damary is from Cuba. Her husband and son are her only family in the U.S., though she considers the custodial department her family as well. She loves Netflix, hispanic food, and dancing. Her son is going to Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) for two years before moving on to F&M or Millersville University. She added that she enjoyed the half-day Fridays over the summer and hopes the College does them again next year. 

Iris

Iris is from El Salvador and enjoys making and selling pupusas, a traditional dish from El Salvador. She said she has a really smart 6-year-old son with whom she likes to take for ice cream and watch Disney movies. Iris said she doesn’t have any other family in the U.S. and she’s excited to visit them soon. Iris added that she enjoys seeing the diversity of students on campus. With an autistic son, she feels she can understand the students and do her best to create a good experience for them. 

Jesús

Jesús is from Puerto Rico and has three kids. He said he works hard for his kids and family, so he can provide them with whatever they need so they can have a good future. He said his daughter is going to the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design for photography. Jesús added that he likes Netflix, sports, going to the gym, and Puerto Rican food. He especially loves preparing food for other people to enjoy.