Four months ago, Ethiopian immigrant Aydah Madani received the phone call that she had been hoping for since moving to the Bay Area 20 years ago. It was an opportunity to work at UCSF.
Madani held different jobs, including as a pre-school teacher and home care nursing assistant but it was her dream to work at UCSF. “From the time I arrived in the Bay Area, I wanted to work at UCSF,” she said.
Now, Madani is working in Facilities Services cleaning the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) in Oakland. “We have a great team and supervisor,” Madani said. The team arrives daily at 5am to begin cleaning the offices. “We’re full of energy. We enjoy working at UCSF.”
Custodial Services Assistant Superintendent, Grace Criley, guides the team with the assistance of Senior Custodian Jose Rojo. "We work together as a well-oiled machine," Criley said. Madani said they have a system to make sure the offices are vacuumed, dusted, the bathrooms are cleaned while the trash, compost and recycling are all emptied.
Criley said Madani’s professionalism is evident in every aspect of her work. “Aydah’s dedication to her stakeholders has earned her a great reputation and her reliability makes her an invaluable member of the team,” Criley said.
Custodian Aydah Madani working at UCOP.
“We do some floor care and heavy cleaning, and we take care of specific cleaning requests for customers,” she said. “We also make sure the bathrooms and kitchens are stocked with supplies and we do some heavy floor care as needed.”
Madani said the most challenging aspect of the team’s job is getting in and out of the office before the UCOP team arrives for work. “We have to give them space,” she said. “We don’t want to be working while they are trying to do their jobs.”
While Madani was born and raised in Ethiopia, she is now a proud American citizen. “I had an older sister who lived in the U.S. and when war broke out in Ethiopia I moved to America,” she said.
Madani spends most weekends volunteering and planning events for the Bay Area’s Ethiopian community. “Our kids know their background and we regularly schedule cultural activities and lectures to continually educate them about Ethiopia,” she said.
Part of that education involves teaching them how to prepare traditional Ethiopian food for community celebrations. “I love to cook,” Madani said. Her specialty is Doro Wat, an Ethiopian spicy chicken stew with boiled eggs.
And while Madani shares her culture with coworkers, she likes the fact that UCSF is a big place that features many different cultures while also offering professional growth opportunities. “This has earned her a great reputation,” Criley said. “Her teamwork and willingness to help teammates makes her an invaluable member of our team. Her integrity is at the core of her work ethic.”
