At Live Oak Ridge Middle School everyone knows lead custodian Andre Thomas – knows him, respects him and thinks the world of him.
The longtime custodian is a Killeen ISD STEEL Award winner for the month of January.
“He truly cares about the students, staff and the campus itself,” said Principal Kernisha Hill. “There is not a person in the building that does not love him.”
It’s easy to see why.
Everyone calls him “Mr. Andre.”
He goes about his job with great humility and exudes gratitude and joy that spreads to staff, students and anyone else passing through the middle school.
Thomas grew up in a military family and moved around a lot before his family settled in Killeen and he graduated in 2006 from Shoemaker High School.
He went to work at Live Oak Ridge Middle School in 2010 and 15 years later, he’s still there making a positive difference.
“He goes above and beyond the call of duty every single day. There are not enough words to say how much he is appreciated. His work ethic is wonderful,” Hill said.
“The results show and I’m proud. I worked hard to improve and I’m still improving. I still have a lot to learn and I’m still excited,” Thomas said.
“I think the work I do, if I do my part as efficiently and safely as possible it makes a very dramatic difference for the staff and students when they come into a clean facility rather than a not so clean facility because environmental health is very important.”
In addition to the importance of doing the work well, Mr. Andre has come to see his role moves far beyond the obvious job description of a building custodian.
“I’ve come to appreciate that every interaction can be very important with staff and students,” he said. “You can do the best you can to give a bit of advice and have a good mindset. That’s what makes my job so interesting is all the interactions.”
In addition to filling his night custodian duties from about 2:30 to 11:30 in the evening, Thomas is known to come by for school events to check on the building and to root on the Lobos.
“Sometimes I drop by to have a look and just support the team,” he said, making clear his knowledge of the school’s athletic teams. “For me, I get to enjoy myself.”
KISD Superintendent King Davis and other senior district leaders joined Hill and other campus staff in surprising the Live Oak Ridge custodian with the STEEL Award which goes to two district employees a month.
“I still cannot grasp the words about that. I’ve never been surprised like that. It was humbling and a little embarrassing. I thought, ‘How did this happen?’”
“It’s a great honor. I can’t get the exact words, but I personally thank Mrs. Hill for that. I’m very humbled and grateful.”