Resident sees her ‘place’ at Rowan in career change

Two years ago, Mount Laurel resident Michele Moyer faced complications in her professional career.

Health conditions made it hard to work as a pastry chef. So while she continued to toil in the culinary field, Moyer decided after four years that it was time to find a new career path.

A friend suggested working as a custodian at Rowan College at Burlington County, an ideal fit for someone used to high-stress, managerial environments. But while Moyer wanted to return to school to finish her degree, the stigma surrounding custodial jobs initially gave her pause.

“It was super ego-busting in the beginning,” Moyer recalled of her position. “I was really struggling with what I was doing.”

But during her first week on the job, a student’s small gesture helped ease Moyer’s uncertainty at an unfamiliar time in her life.

“I was really nervous about (the job), and I was like, ‘I’ve never been a custodian, I don’t know how to do this,'” Moyer explained. “And (a student) left me a message (saying) ‘I see you work really hard here, and I appreciate you,’ and it changed everything for me.

“It made me realize it’s not about me; my job is really important here.”

Moyer quickly integrated into the culture at Rowan. Last year, the college ran its weekly Thankful Thursday campaign, when students, faculty and staff share what they are thankful for through videos and “gratitude cards.” The initiative involves interviews and submissions to gratitude boxes.

Moyer’s contribution gained the most likes on social media over the campaign’s seven-month run. The college’s post citing her efforts can be viewed at www.instagram.com/p/DCozkNEvWXv/#.

Moyer was also presented with the fall semester’s Barons Best award, given every semester to a Rowan staff member who exemplifies the ideals of hard work, loyalty, innovation, service to the community and a student-first disposition.

“Michele exemplifies the type of employee every department hopes to have: driven, dependable and trusted,” noted Rowan’s facilities senior lead Michael Henry. “Her impact is felt every day in how smoothly our operations function. Michele is well-respected among her peers, not only for her professionalism but also for the support and encouragement she provides to others.”

“It feels really good,” Moyer said of her selection. “I love (my job), I love why I’m here and I love what I do.”

Much of Moyers’ day as assistant lead custodian involves traveling to school buildings, noting what needs to be fixed or cleaned, assigning custodial duties and handling work orders. It’s behind-the-scenes work that is vital to the success of staff, faculty and students, according to Rowan.

“The bottom line is, statistics show that when you have good facilities, it increases learning,” Moyer pointed out. “Proper lighting, comfort, air quality, cleanliness – all of it assists student learning in the end. It’s like the unsung hero in a lot of things.”

Since she didn’t train for a custodial career, Moyer has been taking facilities training classes. She came to Rowan to finish her degree, but after being dissatisfied with a typical degree course featuring classes like sociology and English, she found that the facility-related classes helped her excel more.

James Clang, the college’s director of facilities and project management, has suggested classes Moyer should take. So far, she’s grasped power tools and machinery skills. 

“The entire facilities department has been influential in helping me acclimate to a completely new career path,” Moyer related. “All my facilities team members have taken time to teach me. I’m very grateful for them all.

“I never really looked at things like that before,” she added. “But having this job, I look at everything completely different now, and I see my place in it.”