CHS Custodial Staff

CUPERTINO HIGH SCHOOL’S CUSTODIAL CUSTODIAL STAFF

STAFF @ TINO A look into the stories behind the people that keep our campus safe and sanitary

JAVIER BORCEGUIN

Lead Night Custodian RAISSA JI opinions editor

As the most experienced member of Cupertino High School’s custodial staff, Lead Night Custodian Javier Borceguin has seen generations of students grow up and head off to college. “When I see you guys,” said Borceguin, “I feel lucky and like to remind you guys to get a career and be something for your future.”

Borceguin joined CHS’ custodial staff 31 years ago after finding an interest in the cleaning services industry while working with his brother at a local restaurant in Cupertino. Said Borceguin, “They liked the job I was doing and told me, ‘Hey, why don’t you go to the [FUHSD] district and apply for a job?’ I said, ‘You know what? Sure, why not?’ So I filled out my application [...], and that’s how I became [a custodian] here.” Borceguin notes that he hasn’t seen much change at CHS over the years. “The school has been remodeled real good, but it has always been a great school. Since I can remember, nothing has changed.

Because of COVID-19, Borceguin and his fellow custodians have been working hard to upkeep a clean and safe learning environment for CHS students. “Light switches, door handles, and student desks,” said Borceguin, “are little things that [we need to disinfect carefully].” Using electrostatic foggers to spray down classrooms has been a particularly significant addition to Borceguin and his team’s workload. But despite these extra responsibilities, Borceguin positively remarks that it’s because “We do everything for you guys to stay safe, no matter what. I always tell my other guys the kids are more important than anything. Even if we have this much work to do, we gotta make sure the kids are OK.”

Borceguin and his team go above and beyond to maintain a healthy campus for CHS. During the remote 2020–2021 school year, the custodial staff still worked on campus. Said Borceguin, “We were there that whole year, doing all the small things that we

wouldn’t have time to do when you guys are here.” Additionally, when students have accidents and leave messes, like “When a kid gets hurt in the bathroom,” said Burceguin, “with blood and things like that, I will take a look, go bring all my stuff, and then do the job.”

Small acts of appreciation can truly make a custodial staff members’ day. Said Borceguin, “When a student says, ‘Hey Javier, thank you very much for everything you do,’ [...], and when you guys give us little cards [...] it makes me feel good.”

I FEEL LUCKY AND LIKE TO REMIND YOU GUYS TO GET A CAREER “ AND BE SOMETHING FOR YOUR FUTURE JAVIER BORCEGUIN “

LEANORD MORRIS

Pool and Grounds Maintenance RISHITA SHAH website assistant

“A TikTok phenomenon. [...] We’ve had the paper liners ripped off, this part of the ceiling ripped down, [and] hand dispensers ripped off.” Leonard Morris, the school’s Pool and Grounds Maintenance, answers in response to his craziest clean up job. From cleaning up devious licks to preparing the fields for sports, Leonard Morris spends his day as a major contributor to keeping the school up and running as a safer and more functional environment. “We’re happy to have all the kids back. Everyone’s walking around with a smile on their face and chatting it up and you guys are so busy talking that sometimes

you don’t even notice that we’re going by, but that’s a good thing. It’s like a sign that coming back is almost [normal].” Morris, an unsung hero of the school, prioritizes the students of the school by keeping the school clean and facilitated for sports and is rewarded by the students’ happiness and involvement in the school.

Small things like being thanked and being helped with moving larger objects play a major role in what makes Morris’ workday much more enjoyable. Leanord Morris befriended a senior football player, who for that reason makes his day much more memorable and better overall. “[...] I kind of built a relationship with him. He’s a great kid, [a] huge individual, [and a] very quiet [and] meek personality, but I pretty much befriended him the most. [...] He’s always asked how I’m doing, how my day’s going. [He is] just a genuine[ly] good kid, and he’s a senior, and I’ll miss seeing him around on campus just because [of] the way he conducts himself.”

Additionally, being more mindful of the lunch and brunch goes a long way according to Morris. Usually a one person’s job, cleaning the quad and the atrium after lunch and brunch has proven to be too much for just a single custodian, so they usually team up, leaving their specific post to help one another out. Leonard highlights how from time to time it makes it difficult for him and other custodians. “There’s times where it’s hard for me to do my area after break or brunch or lunch, then make it over there, try to help out over there. But I got other things [...] the things that fall on my table. If the kids get to pick up after themselves, [it would] free up more time for us to do the initial main things. [...] But as a team we’re stepping up to the plate and giving it our all to try to make sure we’re meeting the requirements even if it does take a little more of our time.”

Although his job does have its difficult points, Leonard Morris believes that he is lucky to have a job at Cupertino High School mostly due to staff and students, which establishes “a calm, peaceful campus.” “I think the majority of our students are pretty well behaved students. [...] You’ve got good kids that are spending their time and the right way. So I feel fortunate to be at Cupertino for those reasons.”

WE’VE HAD THE PAPER LINERS RIPPED OFF, THIS PART OF THE “ CEILING RIPPED DOWN, [AND] HAND DISPENSERS

“RIPPED OFF

LEANORD MORRIS

JOSH KIERNAN

School Facilities Manager JENNY WU print editor-in-chief

Several hours before showtime, Cupertino High School’s Facilities Manager Josh Kiernan fastens the last zip tie connecting two fire retardant tarps together, completely covering the football field in preparation for the city’s annual 4th of July firework show at Tino. Members of Kiernan’s crew would later be stationed on tarps laid out all over campus to pot out fallen ambers with water while fireworks were shot off between the homeside restrooms and the track entrance. “It was always a great experience but

IT WAS ALWAYS A GREAT EXPERIENCE BUT THE PREP AND CLEANUP “ JOSH KIERNAN WAS CRAZY “

the prep and cleanup was crazy,” said Kiernan as he recalled his craziest cleanup job prior to the pandemic.

Kiernan started at Cupertino substituting as a groundskeeper by taking care of the bushes, plants and trees. Some days he would also work for the athletics side of the school, chalking the baseball field, sweeping and vacuuming the pool, etc. In 2011, Kiernan was hired as a groundskeeper for Monta Vista High School, where he worked for a year and a half before becoming the pool and fields person at Tino. After years of “working all kinds of hours” as a Repo Man, Kiernan became the School Facilities Manager, a position he has been serving for six years now.

Reflecting on his most memorable moments at Cupertino, Kiernan can’t help but fixate on the last two years with the pandemic. He recalls a time when he was walking down the main hallway mid-May of 2020. “The hallways should have been full of students and staff but it was silent since no students and only 5 staff were on campus at around 11AM. It was an uneasy feeling as this is not what the norm was,” said Kiernan.

Despite COVID-19 taking a toll on Kiernan and his team, there have been many moments of warmth he’s experienced within the Cupertino community. Said Kiernan, “The parade graduation was a first for me. It was great seeing all the kids graduate and drive in a parade starting from the front parking lot around the block. After not having kids onsite all year to seeing families finally having something to celebrate was great.”

Humbly giving gratitude to his custodial team, Kiernan acknowledges that everyone plays an essential role in maintaining CHS’s safe, clean campus. “I am only as good as my team, as there are guys out there day to day picking up garbage, [...] trimming the bushes, and pulling weeds,” said Kiernan. “They all play huge roles in keeping this school running and I would not be able to focus on what I need to if they did not do what they do.”