Essential Piece of the Puzzle
As facility maintenance technician of the Student Recreation & Wellness Center, Arnold Meza has no shortage of work on his plate, but with his diverse team of dedicated students, the SRWC is in good hands. Although Arnold’s facility maintenance expertise makes it seem as if he’s been in the professional field his whole life, Arnold’s background tells a different story.
Arnold was raised in Mexico and has fond memories of assembling and repairing all kinds of things with his family members. At the age of 22, after completing a degree in chemistry, he moved to Los Angeles and continued his education at Loyola Marymount University. It was there that he began working in maintenance, and eventually, construction – a field that would lead him to Long Beach State as a member of the crew that built the SRWC in 2010. After being approached by an ASI employee, Arnold was convinced to apply for a job in the University Student Union
“Nothing beats this work environment,” Arnold remarked. “Working with students keeps me young, and my team motivates me to stay active and work my hardest every single day.”
Since taking up his role at the SRWC in 2017, Arnold has been essential in establishing a solid workforce of student leaders that understand the important field of facility maintenance. In addition to keeping up with their regular maintenance schedule, he and his team receive numerous work orders from around the SRWC on a daily basis. Still, Arnold is confident that there’s no job they can’t handle.
“Any job, no matter how difficult, can be taken care of,” he said. “Even if none of us have experience with a certain issue, we’ll get it done, whether we get the answers from friends, family, or online. There’s always something to learn, and there’s nothing that’s above our team’s abilities.”
Arnold is proud of the students and staff he gets to work with, and his positive philosophy helps make him an outstanding facility maintenance technician. He elaborated, “The people I work with, and the opportunities to help others, are why I do what I do.”
Arnold Meza was awarded the Essential Piece of the Puzzle during the May ASI employee assembly. As a part of ASI’s commitment to uplifting customer service, each month all full-time staff participates and votes in this monthly employee of the month program.
