By Kiyomi Kishaba
Reporter
The PLU campus is made from stretches of luscious, green lawn paired with tall, brick buildings packed with students and professors alike; a bustling area kept clean and gorgeous because of  the custodial and grounds staff.
Randall Self and Kenneth Cote, employees of PLU in custodial and campus landscape respectively, had very different journeys on their way to working at PLU.
Self first worked at Day Wireless Systems as a Journey-level Communications Equipment installer and after struggling to find electronics jobs in Tacoma, utilized temp agencies which eventually sent him to PLU as a Mail Clerk.
“Pace Staffing sent me to PLU to work as a Mail Clerk for two weeks. Then after two weeks, I came back for four weeks. Then the “permanent person” that PLU had hired quit because of pay. They called me back again, said they liked me and my attitude and after a couple of more weeks, they asked me to stay,” Self stated.
Self remained working as a Mail Clerk for ten years. In 2017, his job was eliminated due to a contract with a private company. Self reached out to Environmental Services at PLU and was immediately hired as a Custodian.
On top of his custodial work, Self also volunteers as an Emergency Worker with W7PLU. He interacts with students daily, especially when working in the AUC, and knows about 45 students by name.
Kenneth Cote is the Campus Landscape and Athletic Fields Manager He also has positive interactions with students often, as Facilities includes many members of the student body. He received an MBA at PLU and stated he enjoyed the classes and professors. Cote attends theatre productions at KHP several times a year.
Cote came to PLU after his wife told him to “get a real job with benefits.” With a construction and landscaping background and a BS in Urban Forestry, Cote said he enjoys his job at PLU the majority of the time.
“Like any job there are moments that make you wonder, but when you believe that what you do does make a difference, it carries you through the rough patches,” Cote stated. PLU has “good people who care about the work they do” and many “opportunities for growth.”
Self has a similar point of view, saying “I enjoy working at PLU. I have come to know over a hundred people here. I don’t like what I do, however, I do like where I work, when I work and who I work for and work with. For me, PLU is not just a job. It is a community.”
