After 13 years, O’Donnell hangs up the mop

For ages, mothers have warned their children that in college, there won’t be anybody picking… For ages, mothers have warned their children that in college, there won’t be anybody picking up after them. The thing is, there are. Pitt employs a small army of custodians who have the unenviable job of cleaning up after largely ungrateful students, faculty and staff, and who often go unnoticed.

One of those men, for the past 13 years, has been Hugh O’Donnell.

His smiling face and constant greetings have been a staple in the lives of everyone who has worked in the William Pitt Union for the past four of those 13 years. But they won’t be anymore, because O’Donnell is retiring May 1.

To O’Donnell, the students have been just as important as he has been to them.

“If it wasn’t for the students, my job wouldn’t be anything,” O’Donnell said. “They’re the ones who brighten my day.”

A lifetime Pittsburgher, O’Donnell’s father worked for the Federal Bureau of Mines doing research at Carnegie Mellon University. O’Donnell lost his father last year, and spending time with his mother, who will be 93 soon, is a large part of the reason he has decided the time is right to retire.

O’Donnell received his associate’s degree from Robert Morris University. Before working for Pitt, he worked in the professional world.

“I had shirt-and-tie jobs, and they were nice,” O’Donnell said, but noted that he has enjoyed being at Pitt more. To him, the choice of what to do was a logical result of his upbringing.

“I was good at cleaning at home because of my mother, so I figured, Why not be a cleaner,” O’Donnell said.

Pitt has been something of a family business for him. O’Donnell’s wife and two sons, both graduates of nearby California University of Pennsylvania, all work at Pitt.

“Just because I’m gone, doesn’t mean that O’Donnells aren’t gonna be on campus,” he joked.

O’Donnell even has a fondness for the oft-maligned weather of his home city.

“I like the city, the temperature and the change of seasons,” he said.

O’Donnell said he looks forward to devoting more time to his gardening, something he has long enjoyed despite not having the time for it that he’d like.