What area do you work in within the VPFA portfolio?
I work in Campus Planning and Facilities Management (CPFM) Building Operations and Maintenance, specifically in the Maintenance Support Shop.
What is your current position, and what are your job responsibilities?
I am a Trades Maintenance Worker 2. That means I do a bit of everything: roof repairs, drywall, cleaning up outside of buildings, fixing up fences or paths, or whatever teams need help with.
What has been your career path; how did you end up in your current position?
I have been here almost nine months. Before this, I worked with sheet metal and before that I did roofing. My wife actually saw that the UO was hiring and suggested I apply. I did, and here I am. It’s a good career choice for me, good for the family, and we get great benefits and health insurance. And I don’t have to wake up at 3am to do roofing! The 7am start is a much better schedule. The 40-hour weeks and steady pace of work are great; much better than the previous position where the hours changed a lot and they could drop my hours. I got hired here so that’s fantastic.
I’ve done a lot of things—a lot of hard jobs. Right now, this is a good place for me. It’s good for my career and my future and my family. I am working hard and being a good member of society.
What is your work history and education that enabled you to attain your current position?
As I said, I have worked with sheet metal and roofing and done a lot of things. I wanted to do better for my family and have a better job that is more permanent. I didn’t want to have to worry about hours and money changing every week—I wanted to have a stable and steady job where I could work hard, learn things, and do better. I didn’t want to have to worry about hours and money. I would rather put energy into doing better at everything and being better in this job.
How has working at UO enabled your professional goals and interests?
I keep learning new things! I have been learning how to do concrete work. We put in a new piece of the sidewalk path by Vulcanology. I have not done concrete before but I learned how, with the ten bags of concrete, the mixing, and the pour. It was great. I’ve also been learning some carpentry work—that’s another nice team. I have lots of co-workers willing to help out. I try to help out other teams, and people are willing to lend me a hand and help me learn something. It’s great so far.
I am trying to be a sponge and learn a bit of everything here—there’s lots to learn and try, so I’ve been trying to do a little bit of everything and do better at all of it.
What do you like about your current position?
Every day is different. I like that every day is different. Sometimes I work inside and sometimes outside—our supervisor is great about that. When it gets too hot, we get to work indoors. The other day I was sweeping and rinsing a flat roof and it got up to 90 degrees, so we had to make sure we didn’t get too dehydrated. The boss is awesome because we can pick and choose the tasks that work for us according to conditions. It was too hot to rinse the roof yesterday, so we did window tint inside of Onyx bridge and went back to pressure washing the roof and cleaning it up today because it’s cooler.
I also like that the hours are always the same and I have weekends off with my family. Before, my jobs weren’t consistent and sometimes I had to work Saturdays. I also had to work really early and really late some days, and that was hard. This job is consistent and steady, and I like that. I have more time for family in the evenings and weekends.
Please share some insight into what your job involves.
Every day is different, so the job involves so many things. This week I was learning how to do the installation of TV mounts into brick walls. It was pretty tricky and hard at first but my co-worker helped me and together we figured things out. We put in two TV mounts in offices in Johnson Hall this week—one was into a brick wall and the other was into drywall. We also put up a glass whiteboard, which was not holding onto the brick wall initially, but we got that sorted out. There is so much to learn and with great co-workers, it works out. We help each other.
What advice do you have for someone thinking of applying to the UO?
It’s a great place to work. We get great benefits; it’s a great work environment; everyone is helpful and willing to learn; and there are great bosses!
Share a little about yourself personally:
- Family: I have three daughters with my wife. We like to go out to the coast and we like to go to the car races. I have an ’05 Subaru STI but I still want a muscle car. My wife got me the best present ever—I got to drive a Ferrari around a racetrack in Portland! I got to do 3 or 4 laps and had to get used to having a headset with a microphone. Also the Ferrari was a rear-wheel drive so it handled different in the turns. It took some time to get used to it, but it was fantastic.
- Favorite food: This has got to be Italian food; I like pasta anything!
- Best movie you’ve seen: I Am Legend. I am looking forward to the sequel.
- If you could only take three items or people with you to a deserted island, what would they be?
- My family
- A flint for making fires
- A pot for boiling water
How do you want to be remembered?
As a good person, always willing to help anybody, and help people get ahead in life.
(September 2025)