In this ongoing series on the work done to maintain and improve the campus, we see how Laura Adams P’23 brings care and attention to the work of maintaining the Einar A. Olsen Student Center.
Story and photos by Marc Glass
“Work smarter, not harder,” says Leader Facilities Maintenance Worker Laura Adams, as she briskly cleans and sets up tables and chairs in North Dining Hall-C. “The goal is to not move anything unless it’s necessary.”
Her self-directed advice doesn’t come from a place of indolence. On the contrary, Adams needs to economize her effort because the clock is ticking — and there’s a lot to do to keep the Einar A. Olsen Student Center in tip-top shape and set up for the day’s docket of activities.
By 9 a.m. she has already washed the walls and floors in advance of getting the room ready for a luncheon later in the day with special guest UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy. Then, with swift, fluid motions, she carries 6-foot tables to the center of the room, tips them on their sides, pops their legs into place, and flips them upright to their assigned spots.
“Ninety percent of the time, I don’t go to the gym after work,” says Adams, who has yet to break a sweat as she wrangles the last of six tables into place. “I usually get 14 miles of steps in during the day. The work keeps me strong.”
Adams isn’t always on the go. She has to take a forced breather now and again to answer cell phone calls from campus colleagues seeking an extra hand with mopping up after a burst pipe or custodial coverage for someone on vacation.
“I’m on call for whatever happens,” explains Adams, who is living proof that when people want something done, they ask a busy person.
Adams says the work of cleaning Olsen Student Center has its own seasonal rhythms. On this dry, early October day, Olsen’s main hallway requires only one pass with the T300 ECH2O NanoClean, a snowblower-sized wet-dry floor cleaner with a circular scrubbing pad at its prow. And if there’s an ensuing coffee spill or two (or three) at this time of year, spot cleaning the floor with a mop will suffice.
But in the dead of winter, when the campus’ busiest indoor pedestrian thoroughfare is caked with snow, sand, and salt, Adams says she will make three passes with the T300 throughout a day. “It’s a vicious cycle,” she says with exasperation.
Back in a shared office, where Adams receives and manages room reservation forms that dictate set-up needs for the week ahead, the dominant decorative theme begs a question: What’s with all the flip-flops?
“They’re my favorite footwear,” says Adams with a laugh. “If I wasn’t working right now, I would probably be wearing flip-flops. Even in the winter.”
“People always bring me flip-flops in different forms,” she continues. “Some of them are gifts from work-study kids.”
Which brings Adams to tell tales that reveal UMF students are as much a part of her working life as the spaces she cleans for them. She’s a regular at home athletic contests, regardless of the sport. After working 40+ hour weeks, she has helped chaperone Student Activities bus trips to New York City and Boston. She and her family even once housed an otherwise-homeless student for eight months.
As for why Adams takes delight in supporting students, “I’m just very much a people person,” she says. “We’re a tight-knit family here.”
Given her comfort with being in loco parentis with UMF students, perhaps it’s no surprise that Adams is, herself, a UMF parent. And fate might have had something to do with it. Back in 2000, she attended and worked her first UMF Commencement — while eight months pregnant.
“At 9 p.m. that night, I went into labor with my daughter,” Adams explains.
Aliza is now a first-year psychology major at UMF. And her son, Mitch, is a member of the University’s Facilities Management team.
“They grew up here, with the after-school programs at the FRC and attending home games,” she says. “UMF has been a huge part of our lives. It’s my home away from home.”
Adams is a 20-year veteran of UMF’s Facilities Management team. In 2017, she was named Facilities/Public Safety Staff Member of the Year by students, faculty, and staff.
