By Whitney Ransom
The Lost and Found department is pleading with students to come and pick up their lost items before school gets out, said Millene Robison, Lost and Found employee.
“The problem is a lot of people do not know we”re here. We have a hard time getting people to know about us,” said Valerie Near, Lost and Found supervisor.
The Lost and Found Office is located in 1055 of the Wilkinson Center and is open Monday -Friday from 9-5:30, said Robison, 23, a junior from Graham Wash., majoring in marriage family and human development.
Nearly several hundred items are turned in each day. About the same amount are picked up, said Holly Pingry, Lost and Found employee.
“It”s pretty interesting to work here. You wouldn”t believe all the items people lose,” said Pingry, 18, a freshman from Syracuse, N.Y., majoring in history.
The Lost and Found department asks students to identify missing items and also show an identification card before picking up an item, said Near, 21, a junior from Waukegan, Ill., majoring in art history.
“Since it”s BYU, and we all signed the Honor Code, honesty is a definitely a big thing. We get a lot of expensive items coming in from violins to miniature fridges, Near said.
Students who lose an item have 2-3 months to pick it up at the Lost and Found department, Pingry said.
The items that are not picked up will be sold at the Lost and Found sale held the first week after conference, Near said.
” It”s huge. Tons of people, not just BYU students, call to ask when the sale is,” Near said. “People are running around, carrying baskets to put their stuff in.”
Ten students are employed at the Lost and Found department. Many choose to work there because it is an on-campus job with flexible hours and nice working conditions, Pingry said.
Some employees enjoy working for the Lost and Found because of the opportunity to meet new people and help people out who have lost items, Robison said.
The most rewarding part is returning an item for those who are generally appreciative for it, Near said.
A typical day for an employee is pretty busy. Employees take time to call and e-mail students to tell them that their lost item has been found, Near said.
Some of the main qualifications for the job are honesty, good customer service, cheerful and being organized, Robison said.
Every item that is brought in has to be placed in a specific place. A sticker is also placed on each item with the day that the item was turned in, Robison said.
Some of the most common items that are turned in are scriptures, keys and computer discs, Robison said.
Occasionally a few engagement rings and mechanical pencils will also show up, Robison said.
“Unfortunately dirty socks are not stored,” Robison said.
The biggest problem we have is people being inconsistent. Many people wait 1-2 months before bringing lost items in, Near said.
” I just returned a pair of scriptures to a guy who lost them two years ago, ” Near said.
