As the hustle and bustle of Old Main begins to subside each evening, one building service worker’s job is just beginning.

Pulling out a large ring of keys, some color coded, others not, building service worker Zoraida Irizarry pressed open the heavy oak door into the dark registrar’s office.

Flipping on the light she got to work, emptying trashcans and dusting each staff members’ desk.

Irizarry is one of 10 building service workers who clean the many building of campus from 5 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and has worked as a building service worker for nearly 23 years.

Passing by the heavy, steel safe that holds the diplomas of graduates delinquent in their tuition payments, she continued on her tasks, sweeping through the offices with lightning speed.

Irizarry has been a member of the Eastern community for many years, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in guidance and counseling.

She began working as a building service worker since her time as an undergraduate, continuing to work while taking classes and raising her three daughters.

After graduating from Eastern, Irizarry taught Spanish at Lake Land College for five years while continuing to work at Eastern, though she left in 2011 to have more time with her family.

She said she enjoys the job of building service worker better than teaching because the duties of a building service worker do not follow a person home.

“When you get done, you go home and you forget about it,” she said. “You teach, you go home, you keep working.”

Irizarry also enjoys the ability to set her own pace.

“You’ve got seven-and-a-half hours, you pace yourself, and as long as you have it done by the time you go home, it’s all done from one end to the other, then you’re OK,” she said.

As well, Irizarry likes being able to be the woman who maintains the symbol of Old Main.

“We take pride in this campus,” she said. “We want it to look good because Old Main is the face of the campus.”

Moving from the office of the vice president for business affairs, Irizarry slipped into the office of President Bill Perry, noting the smell of coffee as she entered.

“Each department has its own distinct odor,” she said. “Some of it is pleasant, some of it is weird.”

As she ran her foot across Perry’s blue carpet, she noted how she takes special care with his office each night.

“Whether he needs it or not, I fluff his carpet every night,” she said.

Irizarry kept up her pace, dusting Perry’s window ledges and around the student’s artwork he displays in his office.

Reflecting on her job, Irizarry said she does not get mad when students are sloppy or create a mess.

“When students mess up, I don’t get mad, I call it job security,” she said. “If there are no messes, there is no need to come to work.”

While leaving Perry’s office, Irizarry’s face brightened as she said the favorite part of her job is meeting new students, parents, staff, faculty and community members in the halls and rooms she cleans.

“The best part of this job is the people you meet,” she said “I love meeting people.”

Tim Deters can be reached at 581-2812 or tadeters@eiu.edu.