The Globe takes a look at the people who keep the students safe, clean and comfortable.

Tuan Nguyen

Where are you from?  Vietnam. I came in 1991.

Why did you move to the United States?  My dad used to work for the Vietnamese regime before 1975. In 1975, North Vietnam became communist. It took over the country. So America made a favor: whoever worked for America before 1975 came to America. I worked two jobs to bring my wife. I come here in 1991, and in 1996 I became an American citizen and I sponsored her.

How did you communicate with your wife during that time?  Phone calls, but it was extremely expensive. [I made] $3.50 a minute. So when I call, the first thing I say is, ‘Please don’t cry. If you cry, you burn $3.50 a minute.’ At that time I made only $6.00 an hour.

What language do you speak at home?  Seventy percent Vietnamese, 30 percent English. I don’t want my son to forget it.

Why did you want to work in the Clayton School District?  I knew that Clayton School District was one of the best, and at that time I lived in the city, in kind of a bad neighborhood, and there was a lot of problems with the schools there, so I think, if I can work here, my kids can go to Clayton Schools.

What is your advice for high school students?  Don’t get mad, enjoy it. The more you get mad, the more you get older. Don’t get upset. You sleep more at night, you wake up you feel good.

Vincent Donnell

Tell us about your family.  I’m married. I have three children. One is a captain in the United States Army, I have another daughter who is in fashion merchandising and the youngest daughter is a sergeant in the United States Army. I have a total of 10 grandchildren. My son has five children, my other daughter (who is in the Army) has three, and the fashion merchandising daughter has two.

What brought you to St. Louis?  The United States Army. I was in the armed cavalry. It was fun, we pretty much just defended the country. I spent time over in Germany and Korea. I was in the Gulf War, and I’ve been to several states in the United States.

What did you learn from the Army?  It gave me discipline, structure and it helped me to get a direction on my life. It taught me responsibility and it helped me to grow up because I went in the military straight out of high school.

Tell us about being a pastor.  It’s draining, it’s rewarding, it’s fun. It’s hard work but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, especially when you have to make hospital visits or perform a funeral. It’s a joy though when you do weddings, and baptisms. I became a pastor in 2007 after graduating from St. Louis Christian College Pre Seminary.

Why did you want to become a pastor?   I didn’t want to be a pastor. I just felt that there was a calling and I just kind of accepted it. I’m affiliated with the Church of the Living God. After I finished at the Pre Seminary, I went back and got my degree in children education.

What do you like most about working here at Clayton?  The kids. The students. The students, they really had a big influence on me going back to school to get my degree in education. There’s a number of students that influenced me to go back to school. I got my degree after my youngest daughter graduated from Clayton High. I told her if she goes to college, I’ll go too.

Tell us one thing you want the Clayton student body to know.  I value their education. Achieve, and go after your positive goals.

Robert Neudeck

What brought you to Clayton?  I was out of work, and the industries that I was in didn’t seem to be having any luck, so a neighbor works at Clayton, in maintenance, and his daughter lived next door to me, and he knew I was out of work, so he said, ‘Would you be interested in coming to work at Clayton?’ So I applied.

Where did you grow up?  I grew up in St. Genevieve, Missouri. It’s about 60 miles south of here, down the Mississippi River.

Do you have any pets?  I have three cats.

What do you like to do for fun?  I like riding bikes, working in the yard. I have a small lawn service part-time. I like to work outside.”

What’s the best part about your job?  What I like about this place is I think I make a difference. You may not see what I do, but if I was gone a day, you’d notice. Like sanitizing desks, I think that keeps the students from getting sick. It’s a responsible job. It’s a worthwhile job.

What do think is the most important part of your job?  I’m wanting to do the job well, and I take pride in that. My boss says, ‘The students deserve it.’ I think that’s right. It makes for a better learning environment. If you had ceiling falling down, if you had trash in the corner every day, it would affect you.

What is your advice for high school students?  But whatever your station in life, make the most of it and do the best that you can. I didn’t aspire to be a custodian, it came to me. Hard work doesn’t hurt you. Take a position that you may not necessarily want at first, but do the best that you can.

Kyle Andrews

What shift do you work?  [I work] 3:30 p.m. to midnight. It’s a late shift which can be tough, but actually one of the reasons that I liked those hours is because I go to school at Forest Park Community College right now and I am going to transfer to UMSL in the fall, so it helps that I can go to school during the day.  It has been nice.

What brought you to CHS?  I was working construction right at the downturn in the economy, I still have a construction company with my father, but things weren’t working so well and I wasn’t making as much money, I was having trouble with insurance, so I started working for a job, really anything.

What is your family like?  I am married to my wife Tara, and I have two daughters, an eight-year-old named Penelope and a 4-year-old named Gretchen.

What do you do outside of work?  I am studying business and accounting. There is a five year program at UMSL where you leave with your masters and you’re ready to take the CPA exam.

What are your hobbies?  I like to work out.  The one place you might see me is over at the Center, I have a membership there from working here, but one of the things I am proudest about is that when I started here, I lost a lot of weight.  I lost about 90 pounds, and I’ve put some back on but that is just from lifting and getting back in shape which is another great thing that working here has offered me.  Other than that I really like music.  I go out to a lot of concerts and I even have some music production stuff at my house.  Cooking, I would say would by my real hobby though.  I had a catering business for a little bit, I like to barbeque.  I get Bon Appetit magazine so I try to make something from that magazine every month.

What is your favorite thing about your job here?  My favorite thing, I guess, is knowing that what we do is a part of your experience here.  You know, sometimes it can get boring and you feel like you’re doing the same thing everyday, but you know that you make a difference and that when you guys come into the building you have a nice, safe, clean place to be.

If you could describe yourself in one word what would it be?  Kind.  I am a very kind person.  You can ask the people I work with, I get along well with everyone.  I had a discussion with my daughter today and she was worried that the people she didn’t know didn’t love her.  And I said well if you don’t know them you have never had a chance, but I reflected a little more and thought well really, we love everybody.  Even if you haven’t met someone, you still have love for everyone that is a human being, and I feel that way no matter who it is, I try to approach them with kindness.

What is one thing that students may not know about you?

I have been donating part of my income to the charity Give Directly. I truly believe we have an ethical responsibility to help as much as we can without harming ourselves.