A custodian’s job is often overlooked in today’s society, yet custodians are the backbone of many establishments across the world despite their lack of recognition. Ismael Granados is the head custodian at Silver Creek, a High School located in Longmont, Colorado.

From carpentry to electrical to picking up the students’ trash from the courtyard every morning, he does it all. Though many people don’t realize this, Granados is the only custodian in the school from about 5 or 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. when the night custodians arrive. This man single-handedly takes care of the entire school of about 1,200 students and 90 staff members, making sure they’re all safe and have a clean place to work.

“I don’t know if you notice me outside when you guys pull up,” Granados states, “but I don’t like it to look dirty when you or your parents pull up because I want you guys to think that the school woke up pretty. […] Anything from trash to lights to electrical, it’s actually kind of a lot to take care of, the school.”

If one thing is true, it’s that Granados cares deeply about this school and the students that attend it. Though there’s a lot of hard work that goes into maintaining an entire school almost entirely by himself, Granados makes sure to always wear a smile on his face to make a good environment for the teachers and students that go to school every day.

“It’s definitely a lot, so you just try to smile because kids see everything, teachers see everything,” says Granados. “So, just try not to make it miserable. You’re gonna have to be there, so make it fun.”

There is a lot of work that goes into maintaining a school as big as Silver Creek, but there are a lot of rewarding aspects of working in a school. Community is one of the biggest aspects of being in a high school environment, and Granados gets to watch these students grow throughout each school year, creating a good relationship with a lot of students.

“Watching the kids line up [at graduation], I’ll actually go out there and watch it because I could be working, but I’d rather watch that,” states Granados. “Even the students that are struggling, you see them cross the finish line and they say ‘thank you’ and ‘hi.’ And then next year you get the freshman and they help you forget about the seniors.”

Granados has been a custodian at Silver Creek for five years, not only cleaning up after kids but changing light bulbs, helping teachers put up whiteboards, fixing sports items in PE, and even cleaning out food from urinals. Despite this, Granados is still very grateful for the community at Silver Creek.

“Coming here,” he states, “it was amazing. Just the staff and everybody, its been a wonderful time, and it doesn’t seem like teachers ever leave, they retire, so this has to be a good place.”

Next year, Granados is going to work in the office and take a step back from the life of being a custodian. It’ll be a nice change from cleaning and fixing things all day, though Silver Creek students will miss seeing him every day around the school.