This is my 21st year at MacEwan. I started out in shipping, went to key requests, then spent 12 years as the grounds supervisor before moving to a new area called Access Control. We look after all the keys and locks across campus – about 3,000 now, and another 400 when the new School of Business building opens.

How do exams tie into access control? Well, they don’t really. But we’re part of MacEwan’s Facilities Operations department, and when something big, like final exams, comes up, it’s all hands on deck. 

The night staff do a lot of prep leading up to exams, starting three weeks before classes end – checking to make sure all 342 exam tables and 684 chairs are accounted for. About a week out, we’re gathering everything up just outside the gym and posting the exam schedule on rolling bulletin boards. Our custodial staff – some of the best in the city, in my opinion – tarp the gym floors, and then we all spend around three hours setting everything up. 

But Facilities is just one part of the puzzle – it’s interesting to think of everything else that goes on behind the scenes so exams can happen: scheduling, proctors who are on site for the exams and the students themselves. 

And the students are always the priority – no matter what area I’ve been in. The grounds crew focuses on keeping the six kilometres of sidewalks we maintain clear so students are safe. The custodial staff keeps the campus clean. And we try to keep the doors working so they can get to class (we can get up to 200 key requests in a day, so we’re not always perfect, but we try to be).

The best part of my job? Talking to people, including students. Over 21 years, I’ve gotten to know a lot of people. And I hope they all keep learning and getting as much education as they can.

– Colin Hynes, Access Control Technician