Groundskeeper Jackson: keeping VCU clean

A day outside cleaning up VCU’s campus may not sound like fun, but Bobbi Jackson makes the best of it. She has been a groundskeeper at VCU for about two years. Recently she was promoted to supervisor.

“I like not having to work on weekends,” Jackson said. “The promotion gives me more money and a cell phone as a perk.”

Some students may have a wild nightlife scene, but Jackson said during the day VCU’s students can be just as wild on campus.

“I have seen a lot of kids cause accidents by running across the street while the cars still have the green light,” Jackson said. “I have also had kids give me an attitude because I needed to trim branches or maintain the flowers near them.”

The students want a clean campus, but they can distract people from doing their job by being rude.

“When I ask if they can move for just a second while I trim a branch or if I need to do any other small task, some have replied, ‘Can’t you come back later?’ I actually can’t come back later because I have a routine of things to do.”

But students aren’t the only people Jackson has to deal with each day. Sometimes her day can take a turn for the worse when she forces herself to clean up after a homeless person who lingers around after the students leave.

“Some of the homeless people leave beer bottles, drugs, needles and feces near or on campus,” Jackson said. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to these kids so I pay extra attention to my surroundings.”

Day by day Jackson’s job becomes different even though the tasks are the same. Greg Hall, supervisor for VCU’s groundskeeping crewe, has been Jackson’s boss since the first day she started this job.

“She is very punctual and organized,” Hall said. “She is a hard worker but sometimes she gets excited too easily over things.”

Jackson said she’s glad her job assignment covers only certain areas on campus, regardless of how much trouble students can be sometimes.

“There is this lady who always uses the bathroom in the park,” she said. “I’m glad that isn’t my area to tend to, but I have had to clean up a mess in the bathroom that could have been prevented. There was a sign on the door saying that the bathrooms were closed due to repairs, but someone disrespected the sign and defecated on the floor.”

Not all groundskeeping work is dirty. Jackson can enjoy the weather while mowing the grass or maintaining the flowers.

“I like being outside,” she said. “I am able to enjoy my job and still look out for the students.”

Like other groundskeepers, Jackson witnesses situations where people need her help.

“I saw a student with a medical bracelet on pass out not far from the Commons,” she said while relating a recent incident. “I immediately called the police. The student woke up and told me he was diabetic and needed some food. He said he was on his way to the Commons, and so I made sure he was OK and then I went back to work.

“I noticed the student went the wrong way, and I pointed the kid out to the cop. When he arrived, the cop did nothing. The student was ready to cross Main Street and looked fine to the cop.

“I hope the student made it to wherever he was going, but it was scary to see someone pass out like that and not be able to do much to help.”

A co-worker, Tim, confirms that he and Jackson have witnessed several unusual events while doing their jobs.

“I was in the truck with her when we stopped for the diabetic kid,” Tim said. “Normally we don’t deal with things like that, but she likes to help others.”

Since Jackson was recently promoted to supervisor she continues tasks other than just maintaining her assigned section of the campus.

“I am still responsible for maintaining certain areas of campus until they find someone to fill position,” she said. “I enjoy my job.”