‘It’s about taking pride in your work’
Liz Johnson has served as CMU custodian since 1983
Elizabeth (Liz) Johnson stands with her cart in the basement of Carey Hall at Central Michigan University on April 7, 2026. (CM-Life | Ethan Wallace)
Elizabeth (Liz) Johnson rides the elevator with her cart to clean the seven floors of Carey Hall at 10 a.m. She works her way down each floor to clean the hallways, kitchenettes and study rooms to create a welcoming space for students who return to their dorms.
Johnson is a custodian at Central Michigan University. She works from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday. She has about eight hours every day to do her cleaning, such as each floor of Carey Hall and some of the bathrooms in Kulhavi Hall.
Johnson has been working at CMU since 1983. She started out in the kitchen at Robinson Food Commons for 20 years until CMU bargained out to a new food service provider, Aramark.
She said the kitchen staff was told to leave, but CMU offered them jobs. While some people left Central completely, Johnson became a custodian in 2003.
A lot of friends asked how she could do custodial work, Johnson said.
"There's not a whole lot of joy unplugging a toilet that somebody has put too much toilet paper in," Johnson said. "But it's just the way it is."
She said that her favorite part of the job is the students, and they make her day.
“It’s about taking pride in your work,” Johnson said. “Something has to be done. And it’s more like the larger role for the students.”
She said that it is just the little things as she gets to socialize with each of them. Some students cross Johnson’s path frequently, so she gets to know them more than others.
As Johnson cleans the halls, she hears students’ conversations. She said that sometimes they’ll be upset on the phone and she’ll give advice when she can, such as to remind students that sometimes the other person is just as upset as they are.
Johnson said some students stay in contact with her after they graduate, whether they visit or send an email.
“I miss my students when they're not here,” Johnson said. “I may not know them all, but they're all my kids.”
The expectation of a custodian is to keep their assigned building clean and make sure everything is sanitized, Johnson said.
She said she tries to wipe down handrails, doorknobs and elevator buttons whenever she walks by because those are spots students touch the most.
"Sometimes I run out of energy,” Johnson said. “I'm getting older, but that's to be expected; I get it done."
She said that custodians from other buildings come to help clean the stairwells and open the soap dispensers since it is hard for her.
Central Michigan Life previously reported that David Willis, director of Labor Services for the FOP Labor Council, stated that CMU is facing critical staffing challenges, such as custodians.
Johnson said there used to be 100 custodians on campus, but now there are about 60.
"If there was more, it would make the job a little bit easier," Johnson said. "But it is what it is, and we make do somehow."
She said that interactions with her students, but also music through her hearing aid, help break up the repetitious cleaning at times.
"You get bad days at any place," Johnson said. "It can be harder some days, but you stick through it."
