Santa Barbara High School is known for its beautiful campus. Beyond our 18th century Spanish architecture and the new Peabody Stadium, we have a hard-working collection of custodial staff who keep these assets in top condition everyday. Often overlooked, our custodial staff are entirely responsible for keeping up the condition of our school and they have their own stories and ambitions that drew them to pursue this profession at SBHS.
When speaking to SBHS Head Custodian Emmanuel Diaz on what inspired him to become a custodian he said, “I wanted to be a custodian because my father was a [Head] custodian at Franklin School […] for 18 years. He used to take me and my brother to work with him in the summertime when I was around 9 years old. There was an opening at Santa Barbara High School in 2011, and I applied and got transferred to SBHS from Harding School. I am excited to work here at SBHS since I Graduated from SBHS in 2003.”
It takes a lot of dirty work to clean up after all the students everyday, but Head Custodian Diaz keeps a cheerful attitude, saying that, “whether it is cleaning graffiti, cleaning restrooms, moving furniture, helping staff members, sweeping, mopping, picking up trash, taking deliveries to classrooms […], I like it because it makes the day go by fast.”
Just as our custodians have a responsibility to look after our campus, students have a responsibility to respect custodians and their work, so be conscious of how you are treating our campus. Although student trash and reckless behavior make the jobs of our custodians more demanding, Diaz says the job is still rewarding and he feels very “blessed to become the Head Custodian of this beautiful school.” He also says, “The most rewarding aspect of my job is having a parent, a student or staff member say thank you for the work that we do.”
As most students will be familiar with the faces of our SBHS custodial staff, be sure to give them credibility and respect the next time you see them. Our SBHS custodians deserve a spotlight for their dedication to keeping our campus shining. Without their hard work everyday, our school would have the reputation it does.
Diaz is not the only custodian our school has, and he wanted to highlight three individuals for their good work in keeping our school clean and beautiful. Diaz says, “The other custodians that do an excellent job and go above and beyond are Marco Flores, Maria Reynoso and Raymundo Marin. They do so much to keep our campus beautiful.”
Diaz ended by saying, “I want students to know that I am not only the Head Custodian but custodians are also like campus safety and that I am also a parent of 2 daughters. […] I just want to add that I am grateful and blessed to work at this school and to have good colleagues. I want to say thank [you to] Ms. Simmons and Mr. Mendoza for their support.”
A big thank you to our custodial staff on behalf of myself, The Forge and SBHS. We see and appreciate you for all the work you do in preserving our beautiful campus and more.
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