By News Editor: Kayla McClain
When going through the cafeteria, hundreds of students eat lunch and effortlessly throw garbage into the trash, which miraculously never gets full. There are spills on the floor in a hallway which somehow evaporates within minutes. Building and classroom doors are incredibly advanced these days by being able to lock and unlock themselves to let in teachers and wandering students. All accommodations of Howell High School are magically taken care of on their own to help students and staff through their day, right?
Nope. It is all thanks to custodian George Pajur and his fellow co-workers that students do not have to fix toilets and teachers have available trash cans in every room. If you think that you have never seen Pajur, think again, because you have. Many might not notice him because of his mysterious cleaning, but he is always there, always around.
Now, some may know the basics as to what his job entails, but there are plenty of small, unnoticed aspects that are included with the title.
Pajur is the day custodian who comes in at 6 a.m. with his day not ending until 2:30 or later. All day his work consists of opening the building, turning lights on, checking restroom supplies, taking calls in the hallway, sweeping floors, washing the windows, using the floor machine, opening rooms for substitutes in the morning, setting up events, helping with football tickets, running the middle school basketball clock, and helping the JV freshman football team. The one that is most familiar to everyone – he makes sure the cafeteria is clean for every lunch.
Even though his job consists mostly of maintenance and cleaning, Pajur enjoys the hustle and bustle of the school grounds.
“It makes the day go fast,” Pajur says. “Never stops. I help keep the school running. Keep all the little things going.”
Pajur has been here for four years. Before that, he worked at General Motors for 31 years until his area was closed and led to an unfortunate retirement. He needed another job, so luckily his friend worked at different schools, such as Highlander Way. Pajur found his ways to Howell High School.
“I like seeing all the different kids and staff and being around everybody,” Pajur says. “I just try to be friendly and help them when they request. I try to remember where everything is in the school so when they need something, I can get it.”
Compared to the teachers and principals of the school, Pajur does not get as much attention for what he does, but being the simple man he is, he never has any real complaints about the recognition of his duties.
“That’s okay with me [not be recognized],” Pajur says. “Everybody’s got a job to do, and you try to do the best job you can. It’s nice if you get a recognition, but a lot of people know that you’re doing things that help them out and they let you know. And even though you don’t hear about it, they still let you know.”
The only real downfall Pajur could think of about his job is that he simply wishes he could do more.
“Sometimes I don’t like not being able to get enough things done,” Pajur says.
Pajur did not always intend for this career path. He has a degree from Wastenaw Community College, and almost completed a bachelor’s at Eastern. That was, until, he had kids.
His eldest son graduated in 2012 from HHS, and the other is a senior. Pajur encourages anything they want to do, but lays down one message for them, and every other high school student.
“If you want a good future, you got to go and get a good education,” Pajur says. “If I were to try and go back now, it’s harder to get a degree because I’m 56. It’s still possible, but money is harder to come by. Education costs a lot.”
Pajur is not positive as to what he would have done if he had completed college, but he still has an eye out for what he can do now.
“It’s kind of up in the air. I like working on cars. If something came up where I was doing a classic car restoration and making money out of it, I might go for that, but I like the people aspect of this job. I like to hunt, work on old cars, build things, and handy-man work,” Pajur says.
To this day, Pajur still reads newspapers and goes online to learn what is out there in the world. He had landed a job where education blossoms, and wants to send the message that even after school, there is always something to learn.
“Education is important,” Pajur says. “There’s always that opportunity. Always learning. Always doing a little of everything.”
