Time to say ‘Thank you’

Whether intentionally or not, students at Liberty University can sometimes take too much for granted.

You know the hallways will be swept and the bathrooms kept fairly clean when you return to your dorm. You know the meals will be hot when you get to the dining hall.
With over 12,000 students on campus, many people work behind the scenes to keep Liberty running.

We need to take the time to give them the thanks and recognition they deserve.

One of Liberty’s many employees is Ryan Pennock, who works full time as a janitor while studying to get his master’s degree in history. Because of his work schedule, he is only able to take one class each semester.

“I know (that) for the next several years, I’ll be here as a student,” Pennock said
He plans to potentially teach history at a graduate or undergraduate level.

For his current job, he is responsible for cleaning all three floors of dorm 22. Cleaning out the bathrooms, taking out trash and sweeping and mopping the hallways are some of his duties.

Two of the things he appreciates as he works are having the hallways clear and being given room to work.

“When students keep their stuff out of the hallway, we don’t so much think about it,” Pennock said. However, when hallways are cluttered with stuff, the janitors have to go out of their way to straighten everything so they can clean.

Something else Pennock appreciates is when students take notice of closed signs.

“It’s such a silly little thing, but you know, we will have two wet floor signs, a mop bucket and a closed sign in front of the bathroom door, and students will consistently climb over it,” Pennock said.

Pennock explained that the janitors are willing to quickly clean up a shower stall if all the ones in the other bathroom are full but that they like it when students ask first.

Receiving thanks from students for cleaning up any type of mess is rewarding for Pennock. One particular instance that stuck in Pennock’s mind was when he cleaned up grease-sprayed graffiti on dorm 22.

“I had a lot of guys thank me for that, and it really touched my heart and kept me from potentially straying to a bitter attitude,” Pennock said. “(It) kept me in a thankful attitude.”

Annette Donigan is another one of the workers on campus. She is a food service worker at the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall, where she has worked since August 2011.

When the dining hall is open, she will either be going around cleaning or serving food, usually at the main dish area. Once the dining hall closes for the day, Donigan is part of the group that goes through and cleans all of the tables and counters. This work will last over an hour after the dining hall’s closing time.

Donigan described the atmosphere as being a good one to work in.

“You have to give respect in order to get respect. And if you don’t respect these students, then you can’t expect to get respect back,” Donigan said.

She said that students will come up to her and ask her how her how her day is going and if they can pray for her.

“I really like when (the students) come up to you and say, ‘Can I pray for you?’” Donigan said.

Pennock and Donigan are just two of the hundreds of workers on campus who do so much behind the scenes to make our time here at Liberty easier.

There are many little things we can do to make a Liberty employee’s job easier, such as keeping the hallways clear for janitors or asking workers if they have any need for prayer. Even something as simple as stopping by and greeting them and saying thank you is something students should do to show appreciation for their work.

It may not seem like much, but it is very meaningful to them.