Every day for six years, during the four different lunches there is the sound of carrots hitting the ground and the students laughing having fun while the custodian pleads the kids to pick up after their fun. Yet again, her request is denied — the students don’t listen.
At the beginning of the school year, Principal Dr. Shawn Perry mentioned custodian Mariana Jauhey during his speeches to each graduating class. He spoke about her 70 hours of work per week and some of her struggles.
“Struggles I face would definitely be the messes I have to clean up,” Jahuey said. “I am getting called from many different locations at once.”
Students already struggle with coming to school for 40 hours per week, but Jauhey stays for an extra 30 hours to make sure students can come back to a clean environment.
“I do feel like the janitor’s problems are getting more recognition,” Kavya Setty, ‘28, said. “In the cafeteria the APs usually call out students who leave their trash behind.”
The custodian’s main responsibility is to clean and sanitize the school. When students don’t pick up their trash or clean up their food after themselves it adds more to her to-do list.
“When I am cleaning, the kids take the carrot bags and throw them,” Jahuey said. “When I ask them to pick them up, they act like they will but then continue to do it.”
Jahuey’s frustration with the situation shows. Even as she tries her hardest to make sure the school is a clean environment for everybody, she still finds herself having to pick up after kids who disregard her requests to clean up.
“Her job is to sanitize,” Perry said. “Our own basic expectations is to pick up after ourselves, so all she has to focus on is making sure she sanitizes.”
Perry is highlighting a problem Jahuey is facing trying to do her job. He explains that Jauhey has her own job and students have their own job too, such as picking up after themselves.
“When we are going home, you know doing our other things – games, sports, piano lessons – she’s still here working and she puts a lot of hours in,” Perry said.
Even so, Jauhey also stays positive by watching the students grow and learn each year. Working in an environment that is closer to the students just puts a smile on her face.
“This is my sixth year here,” Jahuey said. “So I saw them coming so little from middle school and seeing them in their second to third year watching them grow.”