Pamela Bilyeu, custodian at McKinley-ALC, walks the halls with a smile on her face (even behind the mask). She is exactly where she wants to be. In fact, she calls McKinley her second home.
Bilyeu has maintained McKinley’s building for nearly two years and feels her job is more important than ever. She takes pride in her work to ensure the school is spic and span clean for staff and students.
“I absolutely love it here,” says Bilyeu. “I bend over backwards for my teachers.”
She does indeed!
Bilyeu works the afternoon/evening shift. She starts her day with her normal cleaning, but what she loves most is greeting the teachers at the end of their day. She wants to make sure they leave on a positive note. Most of all, she wants to make sure they start their day that way, too.
Teachers will find little notes, trinkets, candy, or anything else that strikes Bilyeu’s fancy, to brighten their day. She’s even gone so far as to find miniature garbage cans to put candy in to leave at their desk.
“I do a little extra for teachers and staff,” says Bilyeu. “I do it because it makes them feel a little more important.”
She doesn’t stop there. Bilyeu wants to make sure McKinley students feel welcome as well. In her spare time, she decorates the halls for upcoming holidays and even has a candy jar in the office set up for students and staff to guess the number in the jar each week. The winner gets the jar of candy and it’s refilled for the next week.
“It’s so fun to see everyone -even the math teachers – figure out in volume [how many are in the jar],” laughs Bilyeu. “Little things like that … makes me proud.”
For Bilyeu, it’s all about giving back to McKinley.
“I have everything I need,” reflects Bilyeu. “It’s important to me to make sure the school is clean and just do little extra things for the staff. It makes me happy [and] … made me a better person. Working for District 742 has made me who I am today.”
Learn more about Pam in the video below!
You must be logged in to post a comment.