Meet Patrick Ryan, High School custodian leader!
What’s your favorite aspect of your job?
My favorite part of my job is coming to work and being with all my co-workers while making sure our daily tasks are complete at the end of the night. There are many challenges and demands and we strive to complete each one of them. At the end of the night, I know that when I set the alarm in the (high school) building, it’s cleaned, sanitized and disinfected for our faculty and staff and especially for our students.
Why do you believe in and support the work of the Minisink Valley School District and what it does for the community?
Having lived here in the school district for 22 years, I have seen the community grow, and especially the campus grow. Minisink Valley is simply the best and second to none. My oldest daughter graduated in 2019 and my youngest is a junior. The district is small enough that pretty much everyone knows each other. More importantly, everyone cares about each other and helps one another. This creates a safe learning environment for all the children who come through the door.
How has this pandemic refocused the work you do every day?
COVID-19 has made a major impact on us and the way we clean the buildings. We must follow the mandates of the CDC, New York State Department of Health, Orange County Department of Health and other agencies which give us guidelines to follow in order for the buildings to be open. Every day, we have to make sure our buildings have been completely cleaned, sanitized and disinfected. This pandemic has taught us to be more diligent in our work and how to deal with adversity. At any given moment, we can get a call from district administration, telling us cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting guidelines have changed. We, as a team of custodians, have learned to have more patience and to be more caring.
What do you want to say directly to the community about the importance of your work?’
My job as the high school custodian leader is to make sure that my co-workers and I have every area of the high school ready for students, faculty and staff. We make sure that every area of this building is cleaned, disinfected, sanitized and ready to go. No one should ever have any concerns about this and I want the community to know that this is being done. In addition to district administration, faculty and staff, your custodial team also wants your children to come into a safe and healthy environment every day.