An MSU graduate student was so grateful for the help she received from a Physical Plant employee, she contacted his supervisor that same night to make sure his service was recognized.

Preventative Maintenance Worker Jim Sobush saw the student pulling out of an MSU parking lot May 21 and, as he put it, just did his job. The student, however, thought he did so much more.

“I was heading to Building 210 on campus and I saw what looked like a purse on the back of a car that was pulling out of the parking lot,” said Sobush. Noticing that objects were falling out of the bag, Sobush quickly drove over to gather the student’s belongings.

Sobush then immediately caught up to her and signaled for her to pull over. “I think I scared her at first because she didn’t know what I was asking her to pull over for,” said Sobush. “After I told her about the stuff on her car she was really worried because her laptop had been in the bag.”

Without delay, Sobush offered to help the student locate her computer; both hoped that it hadn’t been run over on the road. “Luckily, the computer was back at the parking lot and no damage was done to it,” said Sobush.

Knowing that most people might not have taken the time to help her, the student was very appreciative of the help Sobush provided. “When I was pulling out of the lot, all I could think of was what can I do [to thank him],” the student wrote in her e-mail.

Gordon Clark, interim preventative maintenance supervisor, said the act of kindness is not out of character for Sobush. “He drives 70 miles a day to work both ways and is always on time. He helps in all departments and, even though he is busy, he still finds time for family and friends,” said Clark.

Sobush, on the other hand, found his act of kindness to be “just part of my job,” he said. “It seems silly to me to even talk about it, because to me it’s just what you do. If I was in her situation, I would hope that someone would do the same for me.”

Clark finds having employees like Sobush to be a key factor in maintaining a good work environment. “He shows new employees how things should run and how an employee here should act,” said Clark. “We are the eyes and ears on campus, especially because we work the second shift, so having employees that go above and beyond is important."

June 4, 2009