Christian Branco
Title: School Custodian
Job site: Waikoloa Elementary and Middle School
Years in the HIDOE: 2
Years in the position: 2
Q: How did you get into this role?
A: I started thinking about working for the DOE or a state department when I was in high school because I would see the custodians basically doing the same stuff that I was doing at my house–cutting grass, pruning weeds, painting, moving furniture– basically stuff that I could do too. I talked to some of them at my alma mater, Honoka‘a High & Intermediate, and they gave me a lot of good advice, so I pursued that.
Q: What are your primary duties?
A: Keep the campus clean for the kids–bathrooms, classrooms. We do a lot of work around the campus and make sure things are where they belong. For example, we don’t want the kids picking up our tools and hurting themselves. We try to have the school as clean as possible and have the kids feel safe.
Q: Favorite part about the job?
A: I love getting to know everyone. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and everyone has different things that they bring to the table. For example, among our custodial staff, we have people with skills in construction, agriculture and painting. We have people from all different areas. Our teachers come from all over the world too, so you get to know people, their family backgrounds, what they’re doing, where they came from. Our custodial staff, we hang out outside of work too, so we’re not just friends here but we’re friends outside of work too.
Q: Most challenging part about your position?
A: The weather. It changes so quickly. One moment you can be out here cutting grass and then it can be overly hot, so you probably have to take breaks more often. Also time management–-there are some things that need to be done in a timely manner but sometimes it’s hard to get to everything because there’s so much else you have to do.
Q: How does your job support students?
A: When the kids see a clean campus, they tend to keep it clean. Most times, if there’s an area where it’s kind of dirty, you would see some of the kids take it upon themselves to go clean up the area. So it’s beneficial to have a clean campus.
We also show the students how a job is completed from start to finish. When we do work in the bathroom, the students will want to know what we’re doing. A lot of students around here want to learn. We’re all human here so we tell the kids even though you make a mistake, we just try to correct it and keep going. They see us as role models and they do what we do.
Q: Fun fact?
A: I like to hunt. I like to fish. All of the Big Island things. Recently, I’ve been trying to get back into drawing. In high school, I used to be pretty good at drawing. I also just got a truck so I’m enjoying off-roading in my free time.
Oct. 2 is National Custodian Day! Pictured above from left to right, Waikoloa Elementary and Middle School’s custodial team: Christopher Dent, George Chong Tim, David Kauhi, Zacheriah Halfetheng and Christian Branco. Mahalo to all of our awesome custodians who keep our campuses safe and clean — and help build the sense of pride that makes our schools shine!
