Rachel Close has a familiar name at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, and it’s not just because she’s a senior on the campus.
Close is the great-granddaughter of Charlie Close, the campus’s first and beloved maintenance worker, and Patricia Hannon Close, who worked in the cafeteria. She’s also at least the eighth or ninth member of the large and extended Close family to attend Pitt-Bradford, although it’s hard to count.
This summer, the communications major from Bradford who will graduate in December, has been following in her great-grandad’s footsteps by working for the campus’s facilities management department. Now many acres and buildings more than when her great-grandfather maintained the campus, facilities management employs about a dozen full-times skilled workers in addition to students who help with the upkeep of campus.
Interim President Rick Esch spotted the connection when he met Rachel while she was mowing, a task that is a large part of student workers’ summer duties in facilities management.
Esch began his career at Pitt-Bradford as the director of auxiliary services in 1994 and has worked closely with facilities management throughout his time at Pitt-Bradford. Esch, as well as several of Rachel’s co-workers, remember her great-grandfather, whom she is too young to have known.
“I think it’s really cool having the connection,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot about life in general working for facilities this summer. Very useful skills, like learning how to operate equipment. Everyone has been nice and helpful.”
Rachel has followed another family tradition – a love of the outdoors that her great-grandfather fostered in his nine children. She said her grandfather talked about fishing, boating and camping with his dad.
“I’m very into that kind of stuff, too,” Rachel said. After graduating in December, she hopes to stay in the area.