Every teacher, student, principal, and office staff makes a school uniquely itself. Another untalked-about but vital part of a school is the custodians. Athens Drive High School’s head custodian, Stacy White, is not just any other custodian. Not only does she keep the school clean and safe, but she does so with a smile.

“I think Ms. Stacy’s very best quality is her positive attitude; Ms. Stacy is always happy and smiling,” said Athens library media coordinator, Kerri-Ann Ruthven.

White’s personality roots from the life she’s lived. She was born in Raleigh, N.C. at Rex Hospital. She had one little brother that unfortunately passed away when he was 38 and one older sister. Today she has two children; she had the first when she was 39 and the second when she was 41. White had to raise her children as a single mother due to her children’s father passing away when they were very young.  

“I have 4 rescue dogs and 2 days a week I take out 2 different handicap ladies. Neither of my children drive yet, so I stay busy with them, my home, and the 4 acres of my house so I don’t have time for hobbies,” said White. 

White started working with her father in land surveying at a very young age. She has also been in the restaurant business her whole life; she worked at Crowley’s for a total of 17 years. Before the pandemic hit in March of 2020, she worked in the Athens Cafeteria where she had been working for ten years. After working in the cafeteria her job switched to the fast program where she was responsible for taking care of teachers’ kids while they taught. After this position closed, the position for head custodian was offered to White by Mr. Mares, Athens Drive Principal. 

“I feel so blessed because I feel like I have my dream job,” said White.

Head custodians hold lots of responsibility. They are responsible for the overall maintenance and cleanliness of the school. They also have supervisory responsibilities over the other custodians, and they need to make sure that the job is getting done correctly and that other custodians are happy and comfortable in their position. Another important part of being a head custodian is that they need to be able to maintain a positive attitude, and White has gone to school and done this every day. They must also know how to maintain self-control in stressful situations as well as be able to use logical reasoning.

“Custodians have always been the batteries that keep schools ticking,” said Ruthven.

Custodians don’t get recognized very often, but they do a lot to keep schools running properly and safely behind the scenes. Without custodians, schools classrooms, bathrooms, cafeterias, and any other room would be dirty and unsafe for students and staff. Cleanliness is a very important part of any professional facility, but it’s even more important with Covid.

“I have to say my favorite part of my job is the students. I love them and know how hard it is to juggle so many things,” said White. 

White’s career has lots of negatives and positives that come with it but even when she is called in to clean up someone’s mess, the students remain her favorite part. Teenagers have psychologically been proven to be disorganized and it can be a struggle cleaning up after hundreds of them. For White this is not a problem, she finds pleasure in doing things for others.

“My passion lies with being compassionate towards others, whether it’s picking someone up, carrying groceries, giving to the homeless or other charities, or volunteering,” said White.

She, along with the other custodians, are the batteries that keep the school ticking. With both her passion and hard work, White fulfills her head custodian duties with flashing colors.