On the day we met, Akberet Asfaha wore a T-shirt depicting her native country of Eritrea, a small nation north of Ethiopia.

Holly Majcher wore a blue tie-dyed shirt with a man’s face painted in the middle. She made the T-shirt herself, sponging on an Afro to frame the man’s contemplative expression.

Both Asfaha and Majcher displayed a piece of themselves on their clothing. As unique as their paths in life have been, they have both come to be employed as custodians at the UW. Their motives, histories and passions differ, yet they carry out similar duties on a day-to-day basis.

Today, 268 custodians are employed by the UW’s Facilities Services, 85 percent of whom are minorities — including 33 percent African American and 45 percent Asian, according to a 2007 UW workforce profile.

“You could pretty much pick somewhere in the world and we have [a custodian] from there,” said Michael Glidden, facilities manager for HFS.

Asfaha served in the Eritrean military before moving to Sudan and then to the United States as a political refugee in 1991. She is fluent in four languages: Arabic, Tigrinya, Amarigna and English. She worked in construction and landscaping for seven years before becoming a custodian at the UW and would like to return to a job outdoors.

Majcher is a Canadian immigrant. She had a difficult childhood growing up with a single mother after her parents divorced when she was a child. Her mother then had two boys, one who died shortly after birth. The boys’ father was black, which alienated them from the primarily white neighborhood where they lived. At the age of four, Majcher was suspended from school for beating up another student, a young boy. In 2001, at 17 years old, she moved to Seattle, where she has since made a living on her own.

Since such a high percentage of custodians are immigrants like Majcher and Asfaha, their histories differ, and likewise, their aspirations are just as diverse.

Majcher, now 23, goes to school part-time at UW, benefiting from the six-credit tuition exemption program that is offered to custodians. She is pursuing a degree in English and art and plans to teach at high-risk schools and juvenile detention centers. On the side, she is starting a business in designing men’s T-shirts — hence her self-made shirt.

“[I’m an English major] because I struggled with English, so it’s something I would like to strengthen,” Majcher said. “When I was growing up, no one thought I could read or write.”

After working a 5a.m.-to-1:30 p.m. shift, Majcher takes classes at the UW and maintains a 3.5 GPA.

Asfaha has a husband and three children. Her eldest daughter, who was born in Sudan, is studying in Spokane to become a nurse. In the same way that Majcher moved from welfare to home ownership, Asfaha would like her children to continue climbing the ladder to enjoy more comfortable lifestyles.

“I want them to move up, too,” Asfaha said. “I don’t want them to stay here.”

One of the biggest incentives for both Majcher and Asfaha to work as UW custodial staff is the medical coverage for staff and their families. Workers are unionized under the Washington Federation of State Employees and receive between eight and 14 hours of vacation time each month.

While the ethnic and cultural diversity within the custodial staff ranges far and wide, language barriers, cultural competency and general understanding pose as obstacles on a daily basis.

English is a second language for most custodial employees. Therefore, communication becomes a challenge during task delegation and social interaction.

For Scott Spencer and Sattia Sear, assistant directors of Facilities Services in the custodial division, one of the more frequent issues they encounter is when employees are offended by others they suspect to be talking behind their backs in native languages.

“We let them know what impression it gives to others,” Spencer said. “[We try to encourage] English if issues like this come up.”

There are a number a ways in which language diversity is accommodated. Translators are provided during important staff meetings. However, more translating services would be useful during other meetings, Majcher said.

Custodians are also given the opportunity to take classes as part of the English in the Workplace (EWP) program. The course is offered to teach UW employees speaking, reading and writing skills in workplace settings. Custodians have the option to take work time in order to complete the quarter-long course.

While EWP helps to strengthen basic English communication skills, it does not address cultural understanding and competency.

Majcher suggests that the custodial team implement a diversity class to minimize the amount of miscommunication and hurt feelings among co-workers. In addition to cultural awareness classes, many custodians would like to see more professional development classes that would help to advance their careers.

Despite communication obstacles, custodial teams work closely together and typically build strong ties. Asfaha works at Miller Hall in a team with one other custodian, Manichanh Inthakaysone.

Inthakaysone is a custodian from Laos who has worked at the UW for 11 years. While Inthakaysone and Asfaha have varying levels of English skills, they both work well together.

“We help each other,” Asfaha said.

Social interaction aside, custodial work is demanding. “See, work hard,” Inthakaysone said while emptying an overfilled trash bag.

Custodians do the base-of-the-pyramid work, and while the University can’t do without them, they are easily overlooked.

“As unglamorous as it is, it’s important work,” said Spencer, who worked as a custodian at the UW while earning a master’s degree in English before he moved into management. “I even call it noble.”