A Day in the Life of Juan Mendez

During lunch, one is likely to see students running around, eating, yelling, and being normal kids. But one may also see Juan Mendez, one of the Fossil Ridge High School custodians. No matter what Mendez’s task is, he’s sure to be smiling. His positive attitude and bright smile lighten up a room instantly.

When asked what his favorite part of the day is, Mendez says,“…I’d have to say that (my favorite part) is when I get home and see my kids.”

Being a custodian is by no means an easy job. However, Mendez shows up to work with a smile and great attitude, ready to conquer any task. He explained, “(My day usually starts) around 4:45. I get ready, because I need to be here at 6:30. Then I just go over stuff, then I walk around the building and see make sure everything looks good for when the students get here.” Mendez has an early morning and late night. Whether setting up for the beginning of the day, or cleaning up lunch, Mendez is sure to be busy helping students.

What does Mendez do when he’s not at work or with his family? “Right now I’m working on rebuilding an older truck. I’m on diesel vehicles. I recently purchased a 1993 Dodge Ram 350,” he said.  He doesn’t just have one truck either – he added, “I also have a 2012 Dodge Ram and 2500 diesel.” Mendez loves rebuilding old trucks. Just talking about rebuilding them made his eyes light up. “On the weekends I’m working on my trucks,” he says. When asked about how he got into rebuilding old trucks, Mendez said, “I don’t know. Most of my childhood, you know, my parents leaving the farm and I’d always see big tractors and big equipment like that.” Mendez is just as enthusiastic about fixing old trucks as he is about his job.

Mendez is an optimistic person who puts the students of Fossil Ridge High School first. When asked what his favorite time of the year is, Mendez responded by saying, “I really like the summer, doing summer cleaning, and then sometimes on Friday [after work] [the team] just go hang out.”

In the next week make sure to thank one of our custodians. Juan Mendez is a perfect example of the effort our custodians put into their job and Mendez and all of the other custodians in the Fossil faculty work really hard to give us a positive environment. No matter what the task is, they do it with a smile and a positive attitude.