From 3 to 11 p.m., Luis Mendoza aims to be “the best person people can meet at Carlmont.”
While most are with their families, Mendoza, a night custodian, spends his evenings cleaning and setting up the Carlmont campus. He has worked at Carlmont High School for about nine years.
“We’re here for you guys,” Mendoza said. “I come to work like everybody else, and I give it my 100%.”
Mendoza began custodial work after he graduated from Menlo Atherton High School. He worked as a teacher assistant for the plant manager, who oversees the custodial team. After graduating, he contacted the plant manager for substitute custodial work.
“You work hard for two years, put in your work as a sub, and you try to show them that you want a job,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza worked as a long-term substitute at Carlmont for five to six months.
“Our old plant manager walked into our office and he said, ‘You got the job.’ That pretty much has to be the happiest day that I have had working at Carlmont,” Mendoza said.
When asked what he values most in his job, Mendoza cited the benefits, including vacation and sick time, and competitive pay.
According to Indeed.com, custodians in the Belmont area earn about $3,000 more each year than the average custodian in California.
However, Mendoza said the best part of his job is the sense of community at Carlmont.
“It’s really nice to have your vacations lined up with you guys,” Mendoza said. “You don’t get that a lot.”
Mendoza said he feels recognized by the Carlmont community, especially during Staff Appreciation Week and Christmastime. However, Andrew Ramroth, a math teacher at Carlmont, believes teachers could show more appreciation for the custodial staff.
“Teachers will leave some gifts for their custodian at the end of the year, but I think there’s a whole lot more room for growth, for how we can recognize a big part of our staff that makes the school run,” Ramroth said.
Responding to how students could show appreciation for the custodial staff, Ramroth said students could limit the amount of trash on the ground and keep bathrooms clean.
Sophomore Jone Ng also said students could recognize the work put in by the custodial team by making custodians’ jobs easier.
“We need to start taking better care of our bathrooms and cleaning up after ourselves,” Ng said.
This form of recognition could lessen the work Mendoza has during his eight-hour shift. A trashed bathroom increases Mendoza’s cleaning time by 30 minutes or more, Mendoza said. Additionally, stall doors that have been kicked off can injure Mendoza.
Ramroth said Mendoza’s qualities deserve recognition, whether through improved student habits or more staff appreciation.
“Mr. Mendoza is an awfully, awfully kind, sweet person,” Ramroth said. Ramroth has known Mendoza since he started at Carlmont. In the afternoons, they would talk about their vacation and camping trips.
“He’s really good at building relationships, treating people kindly, and sharing with others about himself,” Ramroth said.
