Friendly cleaning crew wins over campus community

Four hard-working custodial assistants have discovered something that Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote long ago.

“Some pursue happiness — others create it.”

Southwestern College’s Fab Four happily clean 35 restrooms every day and spread a little joy along the way. Group members push past their own personal adversity to contribute to the college by helping to keep it clean.

Partnerships With Industry (PWI) fields a team that consists of Denise Levy and four individuals who are identified as having developmental disabilities such as autism, brain injury, cerebral palsy and Down Syndrome. These cleaners cheerfully greet students and faculty every day, and have found the campus to be a safe haven.

These four people were placed in their jobs through the non-profit organization PWI, which was established in 1985. Job candidates are referred through the San Diego Regional Center and the California Department of Rehabilitation. This program’s purpose is to help individuals with developmental disabilities find employment and increase their financial independence as well as self-confidence.

PWI Support Employment Manager Sonia Vasquez coordinates teams of PWI employees throughout San Diego.

” We provide vocational services and our goal is to employ clients with disabilities in the community,” she said.

PWI workers become contributors to society while many others with the same disabilities have difficulty finding work, Vasquez said. Only 14.1 percent of adults with intellectual disabilities have the opportunity to work in the United States. Those employed through organizations like PWI realize how coveted their jobs are and consistently work hard to hold onto their positions.

“People are amazed at the abilities of our clients and how much they contribute,” said Vasquez. “A lot of employers actually wish that their regular employees have the abilities our clients have. Their punctuality, attendance and commitment is always there.”

Members of the PWI group all said they love their jobs. Typically wearing her straw sun hat and glasses, Janice Brooks is very warm and kind to any person who walks by. She is outgoing and can be heard talking cheerfully to her co-workers as they busily walk around campus.

“ I love it here, it’s beautiful,” said Brooks.  “Nice community. Nice and clean and safe.”

Another member of the group is Scott Michael Ruskin. He is often seen with a baseball cap he was given for being a volunteer with the Chula Vista Fire Department. His piercing blue eyes light up when he speaks to staff and students and he loves talking about the SWC football team. At first some students are thrown off by his outgoing cheerfulness, but most talk with him and treat him kindly. Ruskin is not shy to vocalize how much he has grown to love SWC during his 13 years working on campus.

“It’s better to be here than somewhere else and Vincent Tejerion is nice, and I really like being here,” said Ruskin. “You guys are cool here. It feels good to work here. The football team is here. The Jaguars are here. I grew up here.”

Both Ruskin and Brooks are outgoing and quick to interact with students and staff while Alexis Oliva and Elias Hernandez prefer to hang back a bit. Once students get to know the petite Oliva, however, she warms up and will flash a demure smile.

To these four members of our campus working at beautiful SWC is a job and a blessing. Our custodial colleagues have grown into a blessing to our campus community.