A student begins their day by visiting Starbucks to order a cup of coffee. They are welcomed with a warm scent of cinnamon and vanilla they have eagerly been waiting to drink.
The location has been decorated with an abundance of red and green symbolizing the holiday to come.
As they approach the Engineering building, they hear the sound of wheels rolling their way.
The student moves off of the sidewalk and waves to the skater.
Once the student finally makes it to their destination, they begin to think about how lucky they are to be on such a beautiful campus.
Beauty itself is unique and allows for others to interpret it in their own way.
One may enjoy the interactions they share with a barista before class.
Dezorae Orta who has worked at the Starbucks on campus for two years shared how happy she is to have the opportunity to brighten people’s day.
“I like when customers come in and ask us to surprise them or ask what our favorite drinks are. When we hand it to them, their faces brighten up,” Orta said.
While being surrounded by coffee all day may sound like a dream come true, it’s not always as glamourous as one may assume.
“Sometimes whenever we’re taking out pastries or sandwiches that come out of the oven, as we pull the bar down it’s all metal right there. So even with the tongs and gloves sometimes our arms will lean in too close and accidentally touch the bottom or sides. Since the oven is so hot it’ll go through the gloves and you literally get a burn mark. I’ve had countless burn marks on my arms and hands,” Orta said.
Some students may overlook the beauty of our campus and focus on the little details in the crevices.
Lizette Gutierrez is a student custodian who gets her hands dirty to ensure the beauty of campus. She primarily cleans the Marc Cisneros Center for Young Children and the College of Engineering.
“I love my job; they pay us well since we have to go through so much. I don’t like cleaning the restrooms because people don’t know basic manners and are very dirty. One good thing is I don’t interact with a lot of people…I’m the person behind the scenes,” Gutierrez said.
Custodial jobs tend to be overlooked and many would not assume the workload it requires.
With many jobs, employees experience pain, injuries or verbal abuse, for Gutierrez she mentioned how dry her hands are from the chemicals seeping through her gloves, and the pain she experiences when she has cuts on her hands from using a blade to scrape away residue from surfaces.
The hands behind it all don’t always belong to employees around campus, sometimes all it takes is a simple wave.
Lorenzo Gallegos is a student who cruises around campus on his longboard and mentioned how he enjoys waving to people walking to class and shaking hands with fellow skaters as well.
Having students skating around campus gives an interesting sense of community to many students.
“It’s cool when people say hey nice board. I also appreciate when students share the sidewalk and either stick to one side or wait for me to skate through,” Gallegos said.
If you would like the chance to meet Gallegos you can find him learning new tricks outside the music building.
