Rick Masterson has been everywhere. “I’ve been at Aragon for eight years, but I’ve been in the district for 35,” he says. Masterson has worked at other public schools in the Bay Area, and he most recently was the custodial staff manager for both Aragon and Hillsdale. “When I first come in in the morning, I walk the site, see if anything’s changed, check out water leaks, double check that all the alarms are off … That’s why I get here early.” Masterson starts his day at 7 a.m., ending around 4 or 5 p.m., and he even comes in on Saturdays for two to three hours. “The craziest thing that’s happened to me was about three to four years ago, I got the call about the pipe bombs at Hillsdale. That was a long day. But the floods at Aragon are the worst I’ve ever seen; there was a foot-and-a-half of water in the dance room last winter break.” Masterson retired at the end of November, and with him will go countless memories of working at the school. “I like working at Aragon; it’s a good place to work. I’ll miss it. It’s special here.”
Editor’s note: Masterson’s retirement presented an opportunity to profile other members of Aragon’s custodial staff.
Carlos Mendonca
Carlos Mendonca has been part of the Aragon staff for over 34 years. “I love the school,” Mendonca says. “The faculty are some of the nicest I’ve ever worked with.” As a night custodian, Mendonca arrives at Aragon at 3:30 p.m. and stays until 11:30 p.m. He spends the time mopping the classrooms, prepping them for the next day. “You have to be responsible; make sure all the doors are locked before you leave the room,” he says. Since Mendonca has been at Aragon for over three decades, he has been through many different experiences at the school. “As [the school] went through remodeling, we saw about 12 rats every night. I think it was because the school is so opened up,” he says, referring to Aragon’s remodeling project nine years ago. “Also, one day when I came, all the railings surrounding the pool in the courtyard were in the bottom of the pool. It took them two weeks to put back up.”
After a very long time spent working at Aragon, Mendonca will be retiring shortly. “It’s been some fun years,” he says. “I’ve enjoyed being here.”
Ron Claiborne
Ron Claiborne has had his fair share of working in various Bay Area schools other than Aragon, such as Hillsdale, Capuchino, and San Mateo. “At Hillsdale, on Halloween, kids used to sneak up on the roof and throw pumpkins and garbage cans into the pool,” he says. “Aragon is my favorite. The faculty is nice and helpful. At some schools, they don’t work with you, but here you have kids putting stuff away; even the football players.” Claiborne has been at Aragon for eight years, and his main responsibility is to clean the courtyard during his on his one to 9 p.m. shift. “The best part is when I meet people and they say, ‘Wow, this school is really clean!’ or when alumni come and say things like, ‘The school looks a lot better.’ That makes me proud.” Since Claiborne works while lots of people are still at the school, he has formed many relationships with the students and teachers alike. “They know me as the ‘crazy custodian guy.’ Some people think you’ve got to be like a robot, but if you smile and you’re friendly it makes the job easier.”
Ut Le
Ut Le came to Aragon six years ago, but he had some interesting experiences prior to his arrival to the school—or the country, for that matter. “My family was involved with Americans, so the Vietnamese government kicked my family out of the country before the war. I came to America in around 1980,” he explains. “A custodian was the easiest job to get when I came. I had to learn many things, but mostly the language. I didn’t know how to say the ‘scoop’ or ‘broom’ in English.” Le, who has worked in the district for over 20 years, still attends school in the mornings to perfect his English reading and writing skills. “That’s why I like the night job,” he says.
Michael Villarin
Michael Villarin is one of the newer members of the custodial team, and has only been working at Aragon for about one-and-a-half years. This is his first janitorial job. Before Aragon, Villarin was involved in a completely different occupation. “I was in the medical field as a dialysis technician. That’s where we take people with kidney failure and basically clean their blood through two needles in their arm. I did that for about two-and-a-half years,” Villarin says. “To be honest, I switched because of the pay. But I like custodial work; there’s less pressure. People’s lives aren’t in your hands.” It might seem difficult to spend over seven hours on your feet, constantly walking and moving around, but Villarin has found something that helps him get through the nights. “Music is my number one thing. I just go on to Pandora and listen to everything,” he tells. In his short time as a custodian, Villarin has picked up on some tips of the trade. He advises,“You have to make sure to keep a clean environment. You gotta wash your hands and all; just keep it clean.”
