Behind this day porter’s smile is a fighter’s spirit

The lobby of the 10-story Marsico Hall is spotless — like always. But when day porter Khin Su Su 姬 peers through the building’s tall glass windows, 她注意到学生们坐在户外, pollen-dusted表.

她立即行动起来.

面具, 手套, 手里拿着喷雾瓶, 吉从一张桌子跑到另一张桌子, 一丝不苟地擦洗每个表面. This outdoor area doesn’t fall under her housekeeping domain. She’s not responsible for cleaning it, but that won’t stop her.

“I do it because I want to help people,”她说。, smiling, on this late April morning.

Going the extra mile is nothing new for the 17-year UNC-Chapel Hill day porter, who earned a 2024 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award for her tireless work ethic, 注重细节，态度积极.

姬, 大多数人都叫她的中间名苏苏, 获得了28项梅西奖提名, with nominators writing glowingly about an “unsung hero” who has kept Marsico Hall in pristine shape since it opened in 2014. One nominator wrote that 姬 “is one of the most diligent and hard-working employees I have met in all my 37 years” at Carolina.

姬’s constant smile and beaming pride become more remarkable when considering the harrowing path she took to the United States. 她于11月10日抵达美国. 2004年30日，逃离饱受战争蹂躏的缅甸.

“我爱我的国家, but the problems are because of the military government,”她说。, who has gradually learned English over the last two decades. “No freedom of democracy, no freedom of speech, no freedom of expression, no justice. 它真的不是免费的.”

Behind 姬’s smaller stature is an unyielding spirit. 她是个斗士. 一个幸存者.

当她3岁的时候, her lawyer father died in prison – jailed for speaking out against the military regime. 姬’s mother warned all seven of her children not to tread down that same path, 远离政治激进主义.

季不听. 她直言不讳. And when she was in her early 20s, 姬 was jailed for six months, routinely kicked and beaten. 绝望的, her mother sold their childhood home to raise the funds to bail her out of prison, then she implored 姬 to flee the country.

第一站是泰国的一个难民营, where 姬 lost most of her friends and former classmates to malaria. 在那里，她遇到了一个她认为可以信任的人. Though he helped her reach America, he also abused her and ultimately left their marriage. 姬 had to raise three daughters by herself in a new country.

“It’s not easy for me to live life with three daughters,” 姬 said, tears welling in her eyes. “但我很坚强.”

Through her work at Carolina – and at times multiple other jobs – 姬 has supported all three of her daughters, and she gushes with pride as she talks about them now. Her oldest graduated college and is working in Raleigh, the middle daughter is on track to graduate from business school, and her youngest is taking honors and Advanced Placement courses in 10th grade.

In the same way she has modeled work ethic and diligence to every employee and student who steps into Marsico Hall, 姬 has shown her daughters the value of hard work and how important it is to hold one’s head high.

“Everything is not perfect in your life,” 姬 said she always tells her daughters. “但永远不要忘记你的妈妈是多么的坚强. 经常考虑这个问题. 永远试着像我一样.”

This story is part of 油井’s coverage of the 2024 C. 诺克斯·梅西杰出服务奖, 它承认“不寻常”, meritorious or superior contributions” by University employees. 寻找新的收件人档案来或 寻找你可能错过的人.