Oracle Online

As Bromander describes the different quandaries and activities that constantly need his attention, his animated hand motions bespeak his excitement. Behind his glasses, his eyes light up, reflecting the genuine joy he gets from his job.

Not that his work is all sunshine and daisies.

When asked to think of a particularly challenging situation he has dealt with, Bromander’s friendly face relaxes into pensive consideration as he absently plays with his pen. Then he chuckles, pauses, and launches into a description of a particularly busy day.

One afternoon, he recalled, one of the transformers that receives Hamline’s high-voltage electricity failed over at the law school right before midterms. At almost the same time, an elevator in the student center burned out, while in Sorin, a main line for the waste sewer broke in a crawlspacečand all after 3 p.m. on a Friday.”

These kinds of unexpected and unique challenges are part of why Bromander loves his job so much: There’s never a dull moment.

“It can be frustrating,” he admits, “but it’s a project you can sink your teeth into.”

Indeed, Bromander constantly has projects lined up around campus. There is a large whiteboard in his office, still filled with his summer “to-do” list. Projects range from the most basic, such as cleaning classrooms, to the more complex, such as re-roofing. Most of the projects are crossed off, but a few are not. As exciting as the unexpected projects can be, he said, they sometimes mean that regularly scheduled work has to be pushed aside for a while.

Bromander fell into his work by accident; he graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead with a sociology major and a religion minor. He had worked in facilities as a student, and enjoyed the work so much that he took a job at Golden Valley Lutheran College. He stayed for a few years until the two-year college closed. He next worked at the Star Tribune, and though he had no problem with his coworkers there, he missed the atmosphere of a college campus. When he had the chance to take a job at Hamline in 2000, he didn’t hesitate.

“The thing that I’ve found here,” he said, “is that there is nothing like the dedication of the staff and faculty.”
From contract custodians to the head of Safety and Security, Bromander is confident that all staff who work with him are committed to making campus a better place.

Bromander can’t always be aware of everything that goes on around campus. The goal is to do as much for the campus population as possible, he said, and much that gets accomplished goes unnoticed. The replacement parts for the air-conditioning system are not a visible change, and when buildings are re-roofed over the summer, most returning students don’t notice.

However, there are also problems on campus that facility workers can’t find. As Bromander says, “It takes a community to be safe and comfortable.” If students notice a room that tends to be particularly warm or cold, or something that needs to be repaired, he wants to know about it, because he insists that “we do care,” and the wide smile on his face demonstrates the truthfulness of this feeling.

From fixing broken water lines to ensuring classrooms and dorm rooms are clean and safe before students move in, Bromander does his best to stay on top of everything. All in a day’s work.