Mr. Hiery, our North Allegheny custodian, takes the highly misjudged position with pride and brings us behind the scenes with a first account interview for all of you to learn about the life after hours.

Q: Where were you at in your life before you came to work for NA?

“Well, I was actually a certified welder working for a metal fabrication firm for about 16 years. It’s a very rewarding field but there’s a lot of risk you’re putting yourself in. I’ve had to even have metal scraped out of my eye, I’ve had sheetmetal fall on my leg and scrape the skin off of my shins. It’s crazy. There’s also a lot of discomfort in the building because whatever temperature it is outside, it’s going to severely adjust the temperature in the building, and you can only wear so many pairs of pants while working.” 

Q: So tell me a little bit about your job here and what you’re expected to do daily before, during, and after hours.

“So everybody thinks I just clean, and that’s just not the case. There’s a lot more to my job such as making sure the building’s secure, dealing with the fire extinguishers, and lighting. I also deal with all the hazards that come up, like snow piling and icing. Also if anything around is broken, I either gotta fix it, or get somebody else. As far as what I don’t deal with, I’m not touching the electricity at all. It’s sort of similar here to what you have at home, and in that case you’re gonna get zapped and it’s not gonna be pleasant.”

Q: What’s something that intrigues you about your profession, or something that you particularly enjoy about it?

“You know, with this job, every day is gonna be different. No matter how it happens there’s gonna be something new coming your way. But If I’m gonna make a decision I do enjoy painting, which also takes up a lot of time during the summer. Everyone usually thinks the summer time is the easy part of my job, but we’re out to work day in and day out moving out all of the furniture, wiping everything down, painting, sanding down the gym floor, and finishing it. It’s a lot of work and I think not a lot of people really realize that.”

Mr. Hiery is often misrepresented and misjudged in many minds throughout the school, so I ask that you take this interview into consideration because he’s always working hard and looking out for us. So give him the attention he deserves and if you see him in the hallway, give him a quick hi!