“I’m a Virgo, I like long walks on the beach at night.” — Dion Wilson
If you are a student or a part of the staff at Casa Grande, you probably know Dion Wilson, the head custodian and a wonderful friend to lots of students and adults here at Casa. Dion loves to spend time with the staff and especially the students. “My favorite part about my job is, it sounds crazy, but hanging out with the kids, ‘cause you guys are fun to be around and you keep us young.”
All the students love Dion, and if you were to ask nearly anyone about him, they would surely have a mile-long list of reasons why he is the best person at this school. Not only do the students love him, but the staff do as well. “I wouldn’t want to work with anybody else,” says Mike Starika, Dion’s coworker. “I have nothing bad to say about him.”
Dion’s day starts on campus when he first arrives at 6:00 am, getting right into action. He starts by taking off all the alarms and cleaning the bathrooms to make sure they’re nice for us when we arrive. Then, he drives around looking for graffiti, and if he doesn’t find any, he starts doing little tasks such as unlocking doors for teachers and fixing any power outages. During the day, Dion picks up trash while also helping out wherever he is needed. Wherever he goes, students and teachers stop to greet him. “Whenever a door opens, I know it’s Dion,” says Mrs. Heather Martin, English teacher at Casa.
Some of Dion’s time after school is spent with his family while also teaching Girls’ Flag Football. A fun fact about Dion is that he’s in a community choir, in which he is a tenor, the highest male vocal level in a choir.
Dion is not only a head custodian, but as previously mentioned, he’s also a Flag Football coach. Ninth grader Aubree Larsen, a member of the flag football team, stated, “He’s always giving advice and always talking to you.” Dion’s favorite part about being here at Casa is the students. “A lot of the flag football girls would just kind of chill and stuff like that.”
Dion has three sons named Nehemiah, Hendrix, and Elias, and one daughter, named Emery. When Nehemiah comes to Casa, “He’s gonna play football, and he is gonna wrestle, and I believe he said he’s gonna do track as well.” Nehemiah is thinking about taking ASB here at Casa as one of his electives. Nehemiah clearly has big plans for when he comes to casa. When Dion talked about his son coming to Casa, he joked, “I’m nervous about the bathrooms, but I’m excited that he’ll get a chance to be a part of the culture here.”
Dion earned an associate’s degree from the junior college and played football there. After that, he transferred to the University of Nebraska–Kearney to major in teaching and played football there as well.
When Dion was asked if he would ever consider taking on another role besides Head Custodian at Casa, he stated that he would potentially become a teacher, specifically history. “If I was a teacher, I would want to teach history, like Mr. Markey. I feel like Mr. Markey is like the coolest teacher.” Dion emphasizes the fact that he wants to be an outlet and safe space for kids on campus, no matter what. Teacher Ryan Markey also had great things to say about Dion himself: “I’m honored, especially because Dion is my role model at Casa. He embodies the spirit of Casa Grande better than anyone. He makes everyone feel that they have a place at the Big House, and he’d make an excellent teacher!” Although he absolutely loves being Head Custodian, it’s really the kids at Casa that make the job worthwhile for him. Making friends, creating bonds, and helping people are what he loves and does best.
Dion’s favorite bittersweet moment is when he watches students he has seen as freshmen graduate as big ol’ seniors. “And then, after they get their diploma, they walk and shake all the teachers’ hands, and then I’m there at the end.”
Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever, but when Dion retires, he sure will leave a legacy, and his memory will always be at Casa, even if he isn’t here anymore. “You gotta be great in life, so go be great.”
