Overhead lights cast an eerie glow along corridors and walkways after sundown. Hudson moves resolutely from building to building with his supply carts, keeping one eye on his destination and another on the darkness just beyond. He’s learned that a quiet campus doesn’t necessarily mean an empty one.
“Oh yes, there’s a lot going on here after dark. Racoons roam the campus, especially around the Social and Behavioral Sciences building and the East Academic Complex. We also have a family of skunks–four of them. I see them mostly around South Library and the Gymnasium, but I keep my distance because that scent just never comes off your clothing if you get sprayed,” Byron says.
And then, there’s the coyotes. “They show up regularly. A few here and there. But back in January of this year, I took a video of a whole pack of them. There must have been 20 or more gathered between the College of Education and the I&I building, just frolicking around and playing together.”
Hudson was born in Sacramento, California, in 1969 but has lived in Compton since the age of three. He attended Banning High School for a year before transferring to Compton High School. After graduation, he took a few business classes at a junior college before getting his first job at Capital Bank in Compton. He joined the staff at CSUDH in February 2001.
“I started off as a custodian and later moved to the position of Key Master. At the time, I took contractors around to various offices, where they were installing a new phone system,” Hudson says. “When I moved to temporary lead, I shifted from doing all the floors and carpets to overseeing the third shift crew responsible for the entire east side of campus.”
We wipe every doorknob. We clean every desk, every chair, every table, every wall. We’re ensuring that anything that could potentially be harmful is eliminated… I want to ensure that students, faculty, and staff can come each day to a campus that’s clean and safe.”
In his 23 years of service in the Custodial Services Department, Hudson has cleaned, swept, mopped, and in the COVID-19 years, completely sanitized the campus. “We wipe every doorknob. We clean every desk, every chair, every table, every wall. We’re ensuring that anything that could potentially be harmful is eliminated,” says Hudson, who is proud of his work and considers it an important part of creating a learning environment where Toros can thrive. “I want to ensure that students, faculty, and staff can come each day to a campus that’s clean and safe,” says Hudson.
In recognition of his years of committed service, Byron was promoted earlier this year to Assistant Custodial Manager–a promotion too long in coming, says Scott Bourgeois, Director of Facilities Operations. “From the moment Byron joined our team, he’s worked hard. He’s well respected by everyone that knows and interacts with him, and he’s always willing to do any task–all while keeping a positive attitude.”
Bourgeois adds that third shift hasn’t had a custodial manager for about six years. “High turnover and absenteeism mean that things can get missed. We elevated Byron to a temporary lead position while his promotion was in the works. He stepped right into that role, and he’s done a fantastic job.”
Byron has seen university administrations come and go under his watch, but something that former President Mildred Garcia said has stuck with him. “She reminded us that we’re all educators no matter what role we play on campus. We’re all educators because we’re all a part of the learning environment, and our top priority is our students and their families,” says Hudson, adding that he sees the same mission embodied in CSUDH’s current administration.
Hudson’s wife LeShawn is an insurance agent with Banker’s Life and Casualty. They met as teenagers at Crusade Christian Faith Center in Inglewood, where she serves as a Deacon and Hudson is an associate pastor and member of the praise choir. The couple have two daughters, the youngest of which received her degree in psychology and works as a school counselor at Fremont High School in Los Angeles, with plans to open her own practice as a psychiatrist in the future.
Balancing family life with the demands of his work schedule has not always been easy. “Spending time with my children, and now with my granddaughter–this keeps me going day after day. I finish work at 6:30 a.m. and sleep for a few hours before picking my granddaughter up from daycare at 1:00 p.m. and playing with her until my daughter finishes work at 3:30 p.m. Then more sleep, and back to work. The cycle just repeats.”
Bourgeois says there’s a stigma attached to custodial work. “It’s not always given the respect it deserves. For those that can embrace it, recognize its importance, and work hard, it can create great opportunities.” For Hudson, it allowed him to build a comfortable life for himself and his family. He has a home in nearby Compton, a time-share in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and a growing list of places that he’s been able to visit.
“What I really enjoy is being able to travel and create memories for my family,” Byron says, adding that he’s visited Hawaii, Cancun, the Cayman Islands, and Jamaica. This year, he plans to celebrate his 30th wedding anniversary by taking a group of 26 family members to the island of St. Martin for what he says will be the trip of a lifetime.
Working nights allowed Hudson to be available for doctor’s appointments and after-school programs. Now that his own children are grown, he makes time for the youth in his church and on the baseball diamond. It was an administrator at his daughters’ school that first asked him to become a Little League umpire in the South Bay. “He saw how I was always active at school. I would even supervise the playground and serve as a chaperone for student events. So, I’ve been umping games for the last couple of years.”
Even after more than two decades, Hudson still finds his work rewarding. “It has sometimes been tough. There’s been different challenges throughout the years and lots of changes. But our current administration is doing what it can to move the university forward, to create deeper connections with our local communities, and to offer greater opportunities for the students we all serve.”
