By Lauren Ericson and Stevi Valenzuela
At Minarets, the teachers and students aren’t the only ones hard at work during this pandemic. The dedicated team of custodians and groundskeepers have also been diligently working to keep Minarets up to the current health and safety codes, ensuring a safe environment for teachers and staff to work in.
Steven Valenzuela, one such custodian, commented on how keeping up with the increased sanitation due to COVID-19 has affected his work, saying, “I have to make sure to sanitize and clean everything all day.” But like many teachers and staff members, Valenzuela is saddened by the absence of students at school. “Honestly, it has been a lot harder without the kids there because they make the day more enjoyable,” he said. “It’s amazing working here and watching all the students grow into young adults.”
Angela Vogen, another custodian, commented on how COVID-19 has affected her daily routine, saying, “At first, COVID-19 really slowed us down and we were a bit lost without our students and staff. Now it has doubled our workload, and we are working hard to keep our campuses clean and disinfected for everyone’s safety in hopes we will have all our students back soon!” Vogen also commented on the students that have begun to return to school in learning pods, saying, “It is so joyful to see the students back even if it is in pods, although it is very quiet and does not seem quite normal.”
The custodial staff and groundskeepers continue to work day in and day out to ensure that students can begin to return to campus safely and for that we thank them!