While Garfield’s custodial engineer, Kieu Bui, deals with everything from broken soap dispensers to flooded bathrooms, he’s also responsible for way more than Garfield’s messes. As the first person to get to Garfield every morning, Bui is the guy who ensures the school can operate as seamlessly as possible. 

One of Bui’s responsibilities is to prepare Garfield for the school day. “I’m the first person in the building. That means I need to open the building, turn on the light, unlock the front door and check the building,” Bui said, “[I have to] observe and measure the boiler. Then [I make sure] the HVAC system works correctly to provide comfortable temperatures for students.” Essentially, Bui is in charge of making “sure the building is ready for school [to] start.”

Even though this is his first year working at Garfield, he still has plenty of experience. “[I’ve] worked as a custodian at this school district [for] about 17 years already. So far I’m still okay,” Bui said. Bui is also familiar with Garfield’s culture through his family. “My daughter graduated from Garfield last year. I believe we have a good program and I feel comfortable when I work here,” 

Bui is part of a larger custodial team that looks after Garfield’s campus. “I have five full time custodians and one part time custodian who work with me.” Bui said. “After the school day, we need more custodians to help with all the clean up.” As a school consisting of over 1600 students, Garfield is prone to messy accidents. He expresses how “I’m trying the best I can do, but honestly, someday everything drives me crazy.”

One overflowing issue Bui noted is that students often flush objects down the toilets’ drains. He stressed how waste accumulates over time and causes clogs “inside the system under [the] building” which can lead to major plumbing problems. In addition, Bui also gets complaints about graffiti on the bathroom stalls and stated that he wishes he didn’t have to “spend too much time clean[ing] the messes inside the bathroom.” He expresses how one student’s mess can close restrooms for all.

When he’s not scrubbing away foul messages on bathroom stalls, Bui enjoys going on walks around the park and listening to Vietnamese bangers at home. Pay attention to the hard workers in the hallways and make sure to acknowledge the Garfield janitors’ hard work. Bui believes in the future of Garfield High School. “If we work together, we take care together, we will succeed.” Next time you spot Bui around, a simple wave shows appreciation towards his grind on keeping Garfield clean.