Imagine a dirty stain on the floor. Maybe someone spilled their coffee, stepped on a piece of french fries, had caught food poisoning, or they didn’t make it on time to the restroom. Nevertheless, there is a large disturbing mark clearly displayed on the middle of the floor.

Someone is bound to notice the stain but nobody takes interest in it. Students simply walk around the mark or stare dumbfounded by it before their classes start. People lose interest in the mark when the day comes to an end.

The next day, the stain is gone. No one remembers the once disturbing stain anymore. The mark is no longer the center of attention and students walk over the same spot as if there was nothing there in the first place.

Not many students realize that after campus hours, late in the night, people are there to perform an important job on campus- custodial work. They are the ones who do the dirty work to create an image that lives up to the name Fullerton College.

The custodial staff works from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday and between 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays.

Stephen Trapp is the Manager of Custodial Services at Fullerton College and he manages the 31 late night custodial staff. The staff attends to almost every corner of the campus such as the classrooms, gymnasiums, theater, quad, bridge walk, parking lot; all places imaginable.

Trapp has been dedicated to his field of work for several years. He left his publishing job in New York City after his friend introduced him to this profession. Mr. Trapp previously did custodial work for a hospital and California State University San Bernardino where he gained experience. He finds interest in this field from the challenges he faces. He compares college to a hospital.

“The same environment you have outside in a hospital, you have here in a school setting. Somebody coughs in their hand and wipes it on a desk, you need to disinfect that. That’s one of the things that I like about this job. It’s always challenging. There’s always something new, something to bring to the table,” said Trapp.

Michael Reza is the Building Maintenance Coordinator. Reza plans and organizes the work while also doing some maintenance himself. He previously worked in the El Monte school district. Reza enjoys working at Fullerton College.

“Kids are great here, they are nice and polite,… everybody here is very nice, I look forward to coming to work everyday,” stated Reza.

The maintenance staff overall takes pride in the work they do at Fullerton College.

“We 100% support the Hornets and all the students here, we love to see them graduate and compliment how beautiful the campus look, we wanted them to continue to feel that they are in the best environment and that’s what I and the staff tries to do,” Mr. Trapp said.

Trapp wants FC students to remember that the custodial staff is there for them and are their number one fan. Students today can help the staff by picking up trash and making sure to greet the staff.

Lastly, don’t forget to show appreciation to the custodial staff. By letting the staff know they are doing a good job, students would definitely make their day.