At BYU, learning doesn’t stop when classes end — and neither does the work behind making campus run smoothly.
When most students and faculty members have headed home for the day, employees on the night shift for BYU Building Operations are just getting started.
Building Operations takes care of building needs across the BYU campus, including daily cleaning, event setup and takedown and handling maintenance issues.
The Building Operations team consists of over 1,200 student employees, in addition to non-student supervisors and managers. Shifts start as early as 4 a.m. and end as late as 2:30 a.m., meaning there is almost always someone on the clock.
Many of the overnight shifts take place in the Richards Building, home to many of BYU’s courts, locker rooms and other athletic facilities.
Typical responsibilities for the overnight employees include managing trash and recycling, vacuuming, wiping down tables and chairs, cleaning the pools, locker rooms and floors.
With no previous experience required, all student employees are trained on the job through instructional safety videos, weekly meetings and hands-on practice.
Employees who work the evening shift often are in the building from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m.
Though the hours are somewhat unusual compared to a typical day job, many students say they like the unique schedule.
Devin Wes, a student lead for Building Operations, said the hours allow him to participate in activities throughout the day.
“I can’t remember the last time friends invited me to something and I missed out on it because of work,” Wes said.
Nefi Guebara, a student employee, agreed.
“It’s just nice that we have the entire day where the world is awake to do what we have to do and then come and be able to just clean the building at night,” he said.
Guebara also said that there is a sense of camaraderie that comes with being on the night crew.
“We tend to have a lot of fun. We’re always cracking jokes, laughing, helping one another out,” Guebara said.
Richard Choules, the area operations manager, said that at Building Operations, the focus is on the students.
“Cleaning needs to happen. Maintenance needs to happen. But ultimately, we’re here for the student experience,” he said.
For Choules, the most rewarding part of the job is being able to share spiritual experiences with his students and help them learn soft skills that will set them up for success in their future careers.
“I love the focus the university has placed on experiential learning, and I feel that our department embodies that,” he said. “Student employees are learning real-world lessons in punctuality, following work expectations and policies, developing a strong work ethic, and working and getting along with employees and managers.”
In Choules’s office hangs the BYU Building Operations “service with excellence” triangle.
“That is what motivates us all to do what we do. Our focus is maintaining and improving the building standards while also valuing our employees and exceeding our customer expectations,” Choules said. “By doing these things, by fulfilling these ideals, we help deliver a unique campus experience to all students and non-students alike.”
Henrique Dos Santos, a Building Operations supervisor, said he loves to see students grow during their time on staff.
“They’re learning and I’m learning, and we’ll learn together,” he said.
Dos Santos said he tries to help students acknowledge “little victories every day” and realize the value in their work.
“What we do, it’s more than just cleaning. It’s a preparation for the future,” he said.
For the students who work through the night, most of campus never sees their efforts, but their impact is felt every morning when doors open and classes begin.
The campus may sleep, but Building Operations never does.
