Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Student Bodies: Mr. Rudy gets a collective hug from the kids at Rosemary School.
Public Citizen
School Is a Family Affair
To custodian Rudy Mejia, students at Rosemary School are 'his kids'
By Genevieve Roja
Better than Ricky Martin? According to some students at Rosemary School in Campbell, custodian Rudy Mejia is better than the Puerto Rican sensation, simply because he is their friend and buddy.
"He is a good helper," writes Jessica Stith in one of a thick stack of handwritten notes students submitted prior to the interview. "And he is the very, very best. He is very nice!"
After a recession forced him out of his job as a manager in a steel company, Mejia applied for a custodial position advertised by the Campbell Union School District. He's now been with CUSD for about 17 or 18 years, and has worked in several of the district's schools, including the now defunct Campbell Junior High, Monroe Middle School and Rosemary School. For the last five years, Mejia has been known around Rosemary as Rudy or Mr. Rudy.
"Mr. Rudeeeeee!" says one excited student, who gives him a big hug.
During the course of the interview, more children offer hugs or come by and drop off pictures, comments and letters, all addressed to Mr. Rudy.
"In the cafeteria he does funny things that make me laugh," writes Jennifer, a first-grader.
"I like how he cleans the walls shiny," writes Mario, also in first grade.
"I like when he opens my Sunny Delight juice," writes classmate Joanna.
"I forgot about that," Mejia says. "I have them hold the juice with two hands and I crack it open."
Mejia, 51, says he appreciates his job because it allows him to be a mobile presence around school and he's able to help students.
"I have no desire to leave," he says. "I enjoy it; it's like having my own kids here."
His "kids" at Rosemary know this too. Jennifer Potter, who has turned in a piece of binder paper that sparkles with comments about Mr. Rudy, acknowledges the friendly custodian as a caring adult.
"I want to thank Mr. Rudy for doing a good job and treating kids the way they want to be treated," Potter says. "He tells us what's wrong."
"We all work together," Mejia says.
"Like a whole big family," Potter says.
Mejia says he knows almost all the Rosemary parents, many of whom were once students in the schools where he worked years ago.
"They have their own kids going here and they go, 'Mr. Rudy, what are you still doing here?'" says Mejia, a San Jose native who graduated from Willow Glen High School and attended San Jose City College before joining the Navy. "And I go, 'Don't you remember? I used to help you out.'"
Like everyone's favorite family member, Mejia is prone to spoiling the little ones, too. For Easter, Mejia and another staff member are planning on giving the kids candy and baskets; in April, the two are cooking eggs, potatoes and sausage for the school staff breakfast. The school has also recorded a video of Mejia reading If You Give a Mouse a Cookie to a handful of children for the school's read-along program. The video is used by children who are learning to read.
"We help these kids because they need someone to talk to, someone to listen," he says. "That's why I came; that's why I'm here."
Campbell, California
