On Monday morning, Judy Shepley walks through the halls of Larch, toting a cart of cleaning supplies, which rattles as she pushes it. Trash is scattered in the stairway and the hall. Shattered beer bottles lie on the floor of the kitchenette. Shepley pulls on her rubber gloves as she steps into the bathroom, where a student had been vomiting the night before, and begins cleaning the mess that happened over the weekend.

Shepley has been a custodian at Iowa State since 1983, where she has been in charge of cleaning three floors of the Larch residence halls.

Pulse managed to catch up with Shepley to discuss her job and her many memorable experiences while she working as an ISU custodian.

Paul Nemeth: Do you ever whistle while you work?

Judy Shepley: Yes, I do. Not often, but I have caught myself lately.

PN: Have you ever walked in on somebody while they were showering?

JS: Well, I’ve never pulled the curtain back, but I have walked in. Some of the people answer you. Sometimes [the students] will walk around in a towel, but no, I haven’t had that experience. I remember working over at Friley, and on a particular hall I did, the boys would come out in their boxers and I remember thinking, “Gee, Christmas is coming, maybe they’ll get new boxers,” but they came back and no new boxers.

PN: Have you had any issues with any of the drunk people on campus?

JS: No. You hear about the parties and stuff, but no. I’ve had one guy that was homeless, and he had been drinking, and he was passed out on the stairway over at the arches at Friley so we had to call for help, but we’re usually gone when [the students] are drunk.

PN: What is your worst experience?

JS: The flood of ’93, now that was a disaster. You popped in that morning and water was seeping through down on [the] ground floor. We had to figure out what was going on and get people out of the building.

PN: Have you gotten to know any students over the years?

JS: Actually there are a lot of students that I run into.

PN: What’s the best thing about your job?

JS: I guess the best part is the students. You learn a lot about them, you get invited to their weddings and some of them you really get close to. We used to have it so [the students] would come in and work with us, and you would really get close to them, plus the people living on the floor. It’s just fun walking around and joking with them and stuff, like you walk up to their rooms and you say you’re inspecting their room, and they’re in shock, but you’re not really.

PN: What’s the worst part about you’re job?

JS: It’s those Mondays when you come in and everything is a disaster, and going outside and picking up all the trash around the building in the cold.

PN: What makes Mondays bad?

JS: Well, you find vomit all over and busted beer bottles. You know, we used to carry out all of their garbage in the kitchenette, but they just throw it in the stairway and in the bathroom. Usually, you’ll find that more on Mondays, then it kind of slacks off.

PN: What’s the craziest thing you’ve found while working?

JS: Can I tell you about the two I walked in on having sex? I used to clean the computer rooms. When they first opened up, I had to come in early in the morning to clean them before classes and stuff. But I don’t know, that’s just what I thought that was what they were doing, and I was like, “Oh my god,” so I kind of had to get myself out of that area they were in, and take off running. I don’t know, but I swear to god, that’s what they were doing.

PN: Do you have a favorite floor?

JS: They’re all about the same. After this many years of working here, and they give us three years, I can’t complain at all. I mean, yeah, you’re going to have your Mondays, but who cares? You know, you got a job that keeps you busy, the time goes fast, you get done and then you piddle. You know, I was giving the kids a hard time about writing on the walls – they were wanting me to clean it, and I was like, “F— that, it wasn’t like that when I got here.” (laughter)