“You know how you feel like you’re capable of doing something, but you got to get in there to see if you’re capable of getting it done?

I’ve always been in that moment.

[Before Bellaire], I was in the maintenance department located at Mickey Leland [College Preparatory Academy] for Young Men over in the Fifth Ward area. Maintenance was at the time something that I wanted to move on [from] to explore in different areas. There was availability here, so I jumped at it. I was applying for the position and was welcoming of the responsibilities of the position.

The building service manager is responsible for maintenance and custodial [duties] throughout the building. It has required more responsibility [than Mickey Leland], as far as I’m concerned. You have custodial [duties and] staff members that you’re responsible for. [You’re] trying to outline the duties for the day and make sure the night is ending in the proper way going into the next morning. It goes from minor detail — repairing doors, some plumbing issues, structural areas around the building — to the custodial responsibilities of making sure the classrooms and the halls are cleaned. We want to make sure that the school is ready for when the students come back into the building, and that it looks clean, in order and ready to be a smooth environment for education.

It is challenging, especially at Bellaire High School. It’s a very large campus. Bigger campus, more responsibilities.

Some people frown upon the position. Not me. I didn’t know what to expect, and it has been challenging, but I’m okay with it. Everybody responds to things differently. I knew what I was looking for.

You have a large amount of people sometimes not willing to make change. They’re used to doing what they’re doing. There’s nothing wrong with that, but sometimes change can improve you. I think I like it. I feel better about myself. I like the fact that even though some days I walk away from here like, ‘I still got more to do,’ I just come in the morning and try to take off the top of that and keep going.”