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My work-study job on campus is to do laundry for all the student athletes. There is a system in which each team puts all their laundry in a bin in their locker room. The other workers and I get the laundry from the locker rooms, and we wash it, dry it and go hang all of their clothes back up in their locker.
We do other things, such as washing and folding their uniforms and putting them back in their “cubbies.” We also put their uniforms in their travel bags before they travel and hand out their bags when they come to get them. There are always pants to be sewn, a new shirt to be given out because it is too small or a different shoe to give out because the shoes they ordered were too large. There is much to do in the equipment room, and it is all done for the student athletes – to make sure they have what they need to succeed. The equipment room workers do so much for the athletes.
The two equipment managers are Steven Jones, usually referred to as “Jonesy,” and Kelly Clifford. They work relentlessly to make sure the athletes are satisfied. They make all the orders, do the laundry, make phone calls and go to all the sporting events to make sure each team gets what they need. It is a process that takes up most of their day.
There are some student athletes who stop by the equipment room just to say “Hi Kelly, hope you’re having a good day,” or “Hi Jonesy, just wanted to pop in to say hello.” Some of these athletes keep in touch with the equipment managers, which I can see makes them happy. They feel appreciated when an athlete takes the time just to say hello.
During the time between 2 and 5 p.m., there is much to be done because this is the time most teams practice. There is always a student athlete coming to us looking for practice clothes, which we hand out to them after they hand us their dirty ones. There are other questions, such as “Where is Jonesy at? I need to speak with him.” Sometimes I cannot answer that question, because Jonesy is making sure every athlete is given the satisfaction of knowing they are going to have the equipment they need in order to achieve success. That is something that should not be taken for granted.
Bangor Daily News