Need help at University Apartments? Just ask for Ray

You may have met Ray Esser around the Eagle Heights grounds as he worked on a building maintenance or repair project. He may have been the guy who you saw stopping to help a student fix the chain on his bicycle. Or he may have helped dig your car out of a snow bank on a cold winter day.

Esser is the consummate employee of the University Apartments Service Department — he’s talented, generous with his time and always ready to help out.

“Ray is one of those employees you would want to clone. He’s hard-working and loyal,” says Laura Shere, director of University Apartments of University Housing.

Esser comes from a farm background, where he gained experience running and fixing machinery. He began his career at UW–Madison doing maintenance work for UW Hospital and stayed there for nine years. Today he is going on 27 years with University Apartments as a grounds worker. He performs maintenance and repair tasks, as well as landscaping projects.

In addition to his Housing duties, Esser provides security for Badger football games, but he volunteers his time, passing along what he is paid directly to the Verona Knights of Columbus charity fund.

Fellow employees appreciate Esser’s dependability and his genuine, charismatic personality. Bill Frederiksen, assistant manager at the Apartment Services Office, says Esser always goes above and beyond to make sure the job is done well.

“Ray is called upon throughout the year, in all kinds of weather,” says Frederiksen. “I never have to call him in — he’s already here. He will do any job with a smile, and do it well.”

Co-workers enjoy Esser’s sense of humor and ability to lighten up any tough situation. He will find a way to describe awkward situations humorously, making others around him more comfortable.

“His whole face lights up, and he just has this whole demeanor, and he’s so much fun to be around,” says Shere.

Several residents of University Apartments have gotten the chance to know Esser, too. Emily Henage, University Apartments resident and advisory group chair, says Esser is known for being friendly to children who live in the complex, even getting to know them by name. Henage says residents “ask for Ray” when something needs attention in their apartments, and they consider him their “personal maintenance man.”

Given that University Apartments is home to a number of international students, Esser has worked with different cultures during his time on the staff. Sometimes that means a cross-cultural awakening; he recalls cleaning up a very dirty laundry room after a resident had attempted to house a group of live chickens there.

“He’s the kind of guy that out on the grounds will pick up the trash along the way,” Shere says. “If he found a resident that needed him, he would stop.”

And he’s a man for all seasons. “If we have to shovel a little bit to push them out we do that,” Esser says about residents who get their cars stuck in the snow. “We’ll go out of our way to help people.”

Several years ago in the early spring, a large stray dog was wandering around University Apartments, alarming the residents. Esser stayed after work for a few nights to try to catch him. With the help of other employees, within a few weeks’ time, they were able lure the dog with bait and identify the owners by the tags on the dog’s collar. Apparently the dog had wandered out of its owners’ backyard, over the frozen lake and onto the apartment grounds.

“The missing dog’s family was overjoyed to get their pet returned to them after being missing for three months,” says Cheryl Miller, Custodial Services supervisor.

Esser plans to retire in the next few years — and that’s a day no one relishes.

“We’re going to be hard-pressed to find someone that dedicated,” Frederiksen says. “He exemplifies the type of employee that you don’t realize how much they do until they leave.”