Although often unnoticed by students, custodians are hard at work cleaning up the mess generated by the near-3,000 people roaming the halls each day. Gloria Arias is the new building supervisor in charge of coordinating this massive ordeal.

“As the building supervisor, I manage the custodial team,” Arias said. “[I also] coordinate setups for school activities and overall maintenance of the school.”

After previous building supervisor Jorge Taboada retired, multiple candidates for the job were considered by a panel created by Director of Student Activities Corey Bowerman.

“[Mr. Bowerman] put together three other people on the panel,” Principal Teresa Johnson said. “The candidates answered the same questions, and then the panel [made] a recommendation to me about who would be the best person for the job.”

The panel asked questions concerning how each candidate pursuing the building supervisor position would handle their job. For example, they were asked questions about how they plan on working with the custodians and how they plan to lead the custodians under their supervision.

“[The panel decided] it was unanimous that Gloria was the person for the job,” Johnson said.

Arias previously worked at Stone Bridge High School for six years prior to coming to work here. In total, she worked in Loudoun County for nine years.

Arias, along with the other custodial and building staff, has to work during the evening in order to make sure the building is a safe learning environment for students the next morning.

“I arrive at the school a little before 3 p.m. and leave at midnight,” Arias said. “Custodians work in this building from 5 a.m. to midnight, and that’s five or six days a week.”

For Arias, the workday doesn’t start simply when she arrives at the school.

“My work day begins from the moment I wake up,” Arias said. “I check my e-mails first thing and make sure that I address anything that needs to be taken care of before I go into work.”

The building supervisor’s duties and jobs encompass a wide range of tasks needed to run the school smoothly.

“They work very closely with me as the custodial supervisor,” Bowerman said. “[They’re also in charge of] managing staff, hiring new custodians and making sure that all the things that need to get done each day actually get done.”

Arias’ performance on the job hasn’t gone unnoticed. She has left a positive impression on staff and students since coming to work here.

“It’s cleaner than it’s ever been. I’m very excited to have her here,” Johnson said. “The building sparkles now.”