Name: Sherry Watt

Hometown: Phoenix, AZ and West Covina, CA

Years working at CWU: 15 years

Biggest changes at CWU over the years: A drop in student enrollment, there’s always a big turnover and a lot of new buildings have been built since I’ve been here.

Favorite memories on campus: Probably our potlucks, our get-togethers, our Christmas gatherings and holiday gatherings. Everybody gets together and we can all talk. I’m in this building [Bouillon] for eight hours, so I don’t get to talk to other custodians until we’re all together. 

Favorite feature of campus: The Japanese garden. I think it’s so pretty, my grandkids love it. And the greenhouse, I like when they open it on Fridays. They have plants that you can buy, they’re by donation. My first time there years ago, I got my daughter like six of the plants and I put them in this pot. The plants were really little, but now it’s just this huge, beautiful plant. They’re all different, one’s a spider plant that hung, and the ones in the back were tall.

Best pieces of advice: Stay open-minded. Have more trust in people. Go out there and just do it.

Weirdest thing you’ve seen while on the job: Students have put poop in a bag and stuck it in the microwave and it exploded. That was the weirdest. I saw some deer in front of the L and L building by the flags once.

What do you wish more students knew: How to clean up after themselves, and how to be more polite. I’m always saying good morning, and they don’t say anything.

If you were granted three wishes, what would they be: I would win the big lottery. I would buy my son a house, give money to my daughter and pay off my house, and then I would probably buy a house or condo in Hawaii. I would retire, buy a new car and live a happy, healthy life.

Biggest challenges you’ve overcome in life: Having my kids and grandkids was a challenge, but I loved it. My husband is a big kid and he’s a challenge. Another challenge is making my garden bigger and better every year. Last year I had 26 tomato plants, pumpkins, watermelon, squash, zucchini, snap peas, all your onions (white, yellow, red), radishes, bell peppers, you name it. I bring some and put them on a table downstairs, so when they walk in [to Bouillon], I have a basket and it’s just full of fresh produce, and then our building enjoys it.