Milton Hershey School Grounds Keeper is Committed to a Safe and Beautiful Campus

By Mike Fasick, MHS Grounds Keeper

In the Grounds department at Milton Hershey School, we manage the athletics fields, tree work, mowing, and other aspects of the land around campus, which consists of more than 1,000 maintained acres. It’s a big task and we do all the work in-house.

Our duties change with the seasons. In the fall, we take care of cleaning up leaves. In the winter, we’re responsible for the snow. The work picks up in the spring with mowing, spraying, and fertilizing.

We pride ourselves in the work we do and in our team efforts. We enjoy taking care of the MHS campus for our students, staff, and the community. I know when people drive through campus throughout the year, they’re able to enjoy its beauty as a result of our hard work.

I think my education and professional expertise helps me in my role here at MHS. I got a degree from The Ohio State University in turfgrass science, and my prior job experience is in golf courses so at MHS I am responsible for the grass.

I started working at MHS in 2012 as a relief houseparent with my wife, who is now an MHS teacher. The experience working directly with MHS students was great. I think it continues to drive what I do at the school today. I know I’m here for the kids and enjoy helping them have a beautiful and safe place to grow up and live.

Even though a lot of the work we do as a department happens without people seeing it, some of the things we get to do directly engage the students. For example, we’ve done a fishing derby. The students come over to one of the ponds on campus and we get to fish with them. We’ve also done tree planting with Middle Division students by the streams on campus. That was a really fun project and opportunity to interact with the kids.

MHS is a great place to work. I’ve always enjoyed coming to work here, no matter what my role was. I enjoy working with my team in Grounds and maintaining the beautiful campus that people call home.

MHS Employees Go Above and Beyond No Matter Their Role