It’s why the school custodian is up for a national honor.
When students see her cleaning, they say her kindness shines through. Second grader Daveon Hicks needed took a moment to express why he genuinely cares about his custodian.
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“I love her feelings,” he said. “She’s like almost everywhere, she’s like the favorite person.”
First grader Noura Siddiqui said Ortiz offers the school more happiness.
“I just love her personality,” she added.
Fifth-grade student Manuel Calla echoed similar sentiments.
“She spreads love all over our classes and all over our school,” Calla said.
Ortiz sweeps and scrubs the Northwest Side school daily, including all 70,000 square feet and 41 classrooms. It’s a big job for a big personality.
“I love it. I really do,” Ortiz said. “The school is our second house, for the kids, because they come to learn, they come to enjoy, and they come to play as well, so they must be in a good, clean place.”
It would be easy for students to walk past the custodian’s cart and not notice the person behind it. But in Hibbard Elementary’s hallways, Ortiz sees the students—nearly 1,000 of them—and they see her.
“She’s not invisible to us. She is very much a part of the fabric of the community here,” said the school’s assistant principal, Mary Nikoo.
That is why the school staff did something extraordinary to show their appreciation. They nominated the 57-year-old grandmother for the Cintas ‘Custodian of the Year‘ contest. She was chosen as one of 10 national finalists, proving that the right person can make even dirty work sparkle.
“Oh, I couldn’t believe. It was very impressive for me, because I never thought that somebody was going to recognize the way that I am,” Ortiz said.
Voting is open online through Friday at 11:59 p.m. at custodianoftheyear.com.
If Ortiz wins, she’ll get $10,000: $5,000 worth of cleaning products and services for Hibbard Elementary and a pizza party for the whole school.
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