Meet Fessehai Woldeslassie
Fessehai Woldeslassie, head custodian, stands near the front office (Photo: Sloane Crocker, The Puma Prensa)
By Sloane Crocker, staff writer
You’ve probably seen him around campus, or cheering “Goooo Pumas!” on Carrillo Live; Fessehai Woldeslassie is not one to miss an opportunity to show his love and support to students and staff. With such a positive disposition, it’s no surprise that the man everyone just knows as “Fessehai” is well liked by the school community, yet take the time to discover a bit more about Maria Carrillo High School’s head custodian, and you’ll find yourself becoming even more of a fan.
Fessehai was born in Eritrea, where he grew up and attended school. However, the Eritrean War of Independence turned his life upside down. In 1984, he found himself moving almost 8,000 miles across the globe to the United States, a place entirely foreign. Uprooted by war and expatriated to a new land, surrounded by a new language, a new way of life— yet, Fessehai’s positive manner never changed in the slightest. Upon moving to the U.S., he first worked at a supermarket before landing a job at MCHS in 1996, when the school opened—Fessehai has been here since day one.
In the time since, Fessehai has found that one of the best parts of his job is watching students grow through their high school years, then graduate and move “from this journey to the next journey.” While he loves to watch this blossoming from incoming freshman to departing senior, he finds that students can be, in moments, disrespectful as well. Specifically, he finds vandalism to be an unnecessary and hurtful crime. Instead he feels that “we should have peace and love for each other, instead of hate and vandalism and violence.” Unfortunately, many students at MCHS don’t share this sentiment, as Fessehai says that practically every day he has to clean graffiti from the walls of the boys bathroom in F hall.
Besides checking for and cleaning vandalism from around campus, leaf-blowing and picking up trash are also on the list on a typical day for Fessehai. As for outside of school, Fessehai loves to walk, and he doesn’t mean a leisurely amble to the mailbox. No, it's safe to say that his devotion to his job carries over to this hobby as well, as he walks about ten miles every day outside of school. He also enjoys watching sports, and is often on the sidelines cheering on Puma athletes; in fact, he recently gave his support at the Maria Carrillo Women’s Soccer NCS finals. Though he isn’t much of a movie fan, he enjoys watching history channels and loves to read. And when asked of his favorite foods, he described an Eritrean dish called Zigni, a stew made with meat, red onions, tomatoes, and Berbere spices.
Fessehai describes himself as “hardworking” and “able to get along with anybody.” The campus serves as a testament to his work ethic, as the grounds remain litter and vandalism free generally, which is certainly no easy feat with 1,500 students to contend with every day. As for Fessehai’s ability to get along with anyone, this description of himself rings true just as “hardworking” does. During his interview, his amiable disposition never wavered. As he shared his story, he constantly smiled and laughed, practically overflowing with the undiluted positivity that the world certainly needs. If there were more people like Fessehai Woldeslassie, people kind and pure-hearted no matter the challenges in their path, the world would undoubtedly be a better place.
And finally, Fessehai shares a message to all MCHS students: We are at school for about eight hours a day, and “need to maintain it like [a] home.” Fessehai feels that we have the very best staff, the very best administration. “For our kids, for our staff, for our administration we need to maintain together and help each other make it the best school in all the nation.”