Imagine it is 8 a.m. You rush to your first class of the day because you slept in longer than you needed to. You were up late last night studying for the exam you are about to take. As you walk to class, you notice how clear the sidewalks are, and the trees are cut perfectly. The twigs and trash that you spotted just a few days ago are no longer on the ground. It makes you wonder about who keeps the campus beautiful.
The answer to this is simple: Union’s grounds crew.
The grounds crew is made up of full-time employees and student workers. They work constantly through the heat of the summer to the frost of the winter — all year round. For some, their goal is to just keep the campus as clean as possible, so their bosses and their bosses’ bosses stay happy. For others, it is something much more meaningful: being blessed to work with their hands to help take their minds off things going on in their lives.
Jonathan Lafferty, full-time groundskeeper and Union alumnus, has seen the blessings of the work he and the crew have done. Lafferty graduated with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work and said having this kind of job was not a part of his plan for life.
Lafferty joined the crew in September 2024 as a standard groundskeeper. Since then, he has been transitioning into a supervisor for the crew.
“I would have never thought that this is what I would be doing,” Lafferty said. “I graduated with my master’s, and I was feeling burnt out. I needed a change of pace.”
“I love being outside,” he said. “I’ve always had a passion for that. I love beautifying the campus — making things look good.”
The grounds crew is currently working on a big project, which happens to be Lafferty’s favorite: tree trimming. This project was requested by campus president, Samuel “Dub” Oliver, to ensure the campus looks nice for incoming students. Lafferty explained that this project has been going on for the past year and is a meticulous task to take on.
“You don’t want to take off too much at a time,” Lafferty said. “You have to take off what is obvious first — walk around the tree and then start on your second or third round.”
For Lafferty, trimming trees is peaceful. Unlike larger projects that take weeks or months, tree trimming provides immediate results.
“With a tree, you can spot your start and your finish immediately,” Lafferty said. “You can be done in five minutes, and I like that.”
The visible progress of manual labor is what thrills him the most. Lafferty explained that manual labor is a good fulfillment and has helped him tremendously.
“It gives me a lot of time to think,” Lafferty said. “Other jobs might take more of an emotional or mental tax. This takes a physical tax, but it’s something you can manage.”
He recalled the first time he picked up a weed eater, which happened to be when he first came on the team in 2024. He described it as almost too heavy to hold, but now the equipment that used to exhaust him is a part of his daily routine.
“It’s cool to see the progress,” Lafferty said. “To see how much stronger I have become in this job.”
Despite this thrill of manual labor, it does come with challenges. The physical demands can take a toll, especially during the unpredictable weather Tennessee has.
“We are out in the elements a lot. Cold weather, hot weather, and rain,” Lafferty said. “If you don’t take time to rest, it can start to wear on you.”
Despite the challenges he faces, he feels appreciated on campus.
“People are really nice about things most of the time,” Lafferty said. “We are short-staffed right now, but we try to do the best we can with what we have right now.”
Alongside Lafferty is Tyce Hill, a sophomore philosophy major. Hill has worked with the grounds crew team for about six months.
Hill wanted to return to the job this semester, so he structured his class schedule to work for the crew. Hill explained he has one class in the mornings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which frees up the majority of his afternoons to work.
“It gives me a break and allows me to turn my brain off from school,” Hill said.
For Hill, the job seemed practical and familiar to him. He explained that his family owned a small plot of land growing up, which helped him learn the skills he needed for his job on the grounds crew.
“Despite my background of mowing and weed eating, I have never had a job like this before,” Hill said. “It looked appealing, and I knew this was something I could do and enjoy.”
After long days of reading and discussing philosophy, working outdoors offers a good balance for Hill.
“It gives me a good break,” Hill said. “Instead of doing schoolwork all day and then going to a job that requires writing or paperwork, this lets me use my body and gives my brain a break.”
Just like Lafferty, Hill finds satisfaction in immediate results when it comes to grounds work.
“There would be a place full of weeds; I would pick them all out, and then an hour later, there wouldn’t be any there. That is truly satisfying to me,” Hill said.
As with every job in the world, this job has slow days too.
“Sometimes it gets a little boring when there is nothing to do,” Hill said, while stifling a chuckle. “But then sometimes something happens on campus, and now we have a bunch of work to do.”
As both a student and a worker, he now takes time to look for what needs to be done while he is attending his classes.
“There is one specific tree behind Pollard that drops sticks every single day,” Hill said. “Sometimes, I walk by that tree, and I make a reminder for myself to go pick up those sticks when it is time for work.”
Hill also senses appreciation for the work he does around campus.
“As a student myself, I appreciate it when there aren’t sticks or trash on the sidewalks,” Hill said with a smile on his face.
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