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Rada Marinkovich, Custodian, sweeps a classroom at Kolling Elementary School. She has worked for Lake Central as a custodian for over 14 years.

Q:  How did you end up working as a custodian?

A: “I started in another corporation, Merrillville. I worked there for almost five years. I quit that job because at that time my kids were little. I was working at another company for seven years, then I came back to Lake Central. It was 2007 when I started at Lake Central, so 14 years. Before Kolling, I was in Clark for five years, and then I got transferred here.”

Q: What’s your favorite part about your job?

A: “Working with people. Doing stuff like making classrooms look nice. Especially in elementary school, I love working in elementary school more than in middle and high school.”

Q: What’s the hardest part about your job?

A: “The hardest part about the custodial job is summer work. It’s a little bit physical. We move furniture, we scrub the floors. Summer’s a little bit harder, but during school I like it.”

Q: What’s something students could do to help you?

A: “The most important help is keeping their text organized, like no paper on the floor. That way we can do a really good job with disinfecting anything. A lot of times when they do a project they leave everything out. Then we need to move every little thing to wipe the desk.”

Q: Outside of work, what are some special interests or hobbies that you have?

A: “I like to cook. I cook all kinds of food. Salty, sweet, anything. I do gardening too. I like to stay outside and do stuff in my yard. I like to plant a lot of flowers.”