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BY ERIKA ANDERSON
Staff Writer
ATHENS--Ken Bouknecht goes about his work quietly, changing light bulbs,
mopping floors and getting lunch ready at the school he attended for eight
years.
Bouknecht, 22, a 1991 graduate of St. Joseph’s School, was hired as a
maintenance worker at the school in December 1998.
“I basically do everything that no one else wants to do,” he said
jokingly.
After working for over three years at Sears Auto Center in Athens, Bouknecht
realized that he wanted a change of pace. He heard about the maintenance
position at the school and church and immediately applied. He said that working
at his former school was somewhat surreal.
“It’s really a lot different,” he said. “Before I had no
say so in anything. Now I am co-workers with some of my teachers. It’s
just a different mentality from when I went to school here.”
The 1995 Clark Central High School graduate credits his education at St.
Joseph’s as a major aspect in his formation as an adult.
“I absolutely benefited from my Catholic education,” he said.
“I think I’m much more polite than I would have been otherwise and I
have a lot more respect for others. Because it is church related, a different
environment is created here than in a public school.”
Though Bouknecht enjoys his job, he has dreams of becoming a commercial
airline pilot. He plans on entering a flight academy in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.,
and eventually working for Delta Airlines. He said that becoming a pilot is
something in which he has recently become interested.
“This has really just been in the last two years,” he said.
“It’s a recent development that has taken on quite a bit of meaning
for me.”
For now, Bouknecht is content at St. Joseph’s. Though he tries to work
quietly so he does not disturb the children, he enjoys the interaction that he
does have with the students.
“It’s wonderful,” he said. “I love kids and they do say
some really cute things. I just try not to work in the classrooms while they
are in class because I remember being in school and the smallest thing can
distract you. I really don’t want to disrupt their education.”
Bouknecht said that it “feels good to be back” at St.
Joseph’s.
“I feel good that I can do my part to help the church where I
attend,” he said. “They’ve given me so much. They’ve given
me an education and they gave me a lot of love growing up. I just want to give
something back.”
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