Pedro DeJesus

As a member of the Maintenance Department handling HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning) work, Mr. DeJesus deals with temperature, time management, and children from 7:00am to 3:30pm on a daily basis. He is a natural born leader with a special place in his heart for taking objects apart and putting them back together. He describes his job as full, but still enjoys it because it changes every day.

Mr. Pedro DeJesus has been a member of the Parker maintenance team for one year. He specializes in HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning), and he wanted to be on the maintenance team because he wanted a very physical and hands-on job. As a child, he always loved taking things apart and putting them back together. The weather plays a big part in Mr. DeJesus’s job. When it’s cold out, he will usually stick to the work on the inside of the building, and when the weather is hot he will do the work outside. He said that he works 50/50 inside and outside. A perfect day at work for Mr. DeJesus would be 70 degree weather. This would allow him to work on the systems on the roof so that the units won’t break down when the temperature outside is cooler.

Mr. DeJesus said that the most common things that he fixes on a day-to-day basis are the heating and cooling units in the classrooms. When prioritizing his work, making the students comfortable always comes first with Mr. DeJesus. He suffered one injury while working here at Parker: he broke his nose when he was assembling a table with some of his colleagues. When asked, he told us that we can make his job easier by reporting something broken to a teacher right away so it doesn't get any worse than it already is. He says that the best part of his job is when he gets good recognition for completing a task. Mr.DeJesus is amazing at his job, but he also has interests in other subjects.

Mr. DeJesus is a man with many talents, as well as an interesting job. On top of that, he has several hobbies. He loves motorcycles and owns three himself: a Kawasaki Vulcan 900, and Honda CBR 600 and 900 "crotch rockets." He is also very fond of paintball. Mr. DeJesus told us that a few years ago he got a bruise near his elbow while playing the game. The original mark resembled a rainbow, and it is still purple. Growing up, he wanted to be a truck driver but, curiously enough, he liked taking things apart, seeing how they worked and putting them back together. He still fixes things at home all the time for his family. Mr.DeJesus' interests also tie into his personal life, and how it affects him.

Mr. DeJesus was born in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. He worked as a HVAC installer at restaurants before coming to Parker. The school he attended as a child was very different from Parker, because “all [they] did was take tests and read books.” When we asked him about his different tattoos that he has, he smiled warmly and answered. He has a tattoo of the Chicago skyline and the L because he wanted to represent his hometown. He also has a tattoo of a diabetic bracelet around his wrist to show that he is diabetic (in case of an emergency), and he manages his diabetes admirably.

Mr. DeJesus enjoys his job a lot. Over the time he has been here at Parker he has learned to trust himself and his instincts. When asked to describe his job in a single word, Mr. DeJesus said, "full." However, he wouldn't change a thing about it, due to the fact that it changes everyday. He said that he learned about HVAC step by step and through trial and error. When the topic of students came up, he answered that he cares more about the comfort of the students than any obstacles. Mr. DeJesus likes the fact that Parker appreciates his job.

Technology plays an important role in his job because a lot of the time computers can tell him what's wrong with the units. That means he already knows what he needs to fix coming into the job. Issues that frustrate him the most are problems that he can't fix or solve easily, but he always finds a solution. Things that satisfy him are when faculty and students recognize him for fixing a problem. The key point that motivates Mr. DeJesus is recognition and the good results upon solving his former challenge[s]. Another key point that helps him is critique from his colleagues. Some of Mr. DeJesus's favorite problems to fix are ones involving machines on the roof because he understands them better than any of the other units. If he could give any advice to his younger self, he said it would be to start working younger because the more experience you have the better.

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Please note that shortly after our interview, Mr. DeJesus moved to a new job. We are glad we had the chance to talk with him, and we wish him all the best in his new position!