“If you have the opportunity to introduce yourself to her one day, then I recommend you take it!” said Ari Keigan ’18 about Olga Yanes. From 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Yanes works as a custodian in Deroy and is always a warm presence in the residence hall.
Originally from Guatemala, Yanes moved to the United States with her husband in 1990 in hopes of finding a job. At the time, the economy in Guatemala was not doing well, few jobs were available, and everything was expensive, Yanes said.
When she arrived in the United States, Yanes began working in the kitchen at Kentucky Fried Chicken. After a year of working, her supervisor approached her about learning English. Taking his advice, Yanes began taking classes for three hours every afternoon at the Waltham Public Library. “They had an old teacher who [retired] and who wanted to spend the time. They [didn’t] want to stay home so [they taught] the public who needed to learn English,” Yanes said.
It was hard to find a job because of the language barrier, explained Yanes. “Now, when you go everywhere, they have people speaking Spanish,” she said about employment changes in the United States.
In 1996, Yanes and her husband, Roel, now a head custodian on campus, both took jobs at Brandeis. This year marks their 20th year working on campus. “The students are very nice with me. They keep it clean all the time, and they say hi and good morning,” Yanes.
Just as Yanes has enjoyed working with the students, residents of Deroy equally enjoy running into her. “It is always a pleasure to see Olga around campus,” Keigan said. “I met her on move-in day my freshman year, and I am fortunate enough to still run into her three years later. I truly appreciate her continued interest to stay in contact and ask how my family is.”
Another student, Sophia He ’19 is similarly fond of running into Yanes. “I could always count on Olga to brighten my mornings when I had 9 a.m. [classes]. it was a great way to start the day,” said He.
“She would always say hello and ask how everyone was doing,” said David Reinharz ’19, another past resident of Deroy.
Outside of work, Yanes enjoys hobbies such as keeping up with the news, cooking and spending time with her family.
“I watch TV, the news. I like to watch the news—the Fox 25 in English,” Yanes said. “I want to know what happens. I watch a half an hour on the Spanish show—Channel 27, Univision.”
In addition to watching the news, Yanes enjoys cooking traditional Guatemalan food for her family. Her children’s favorite dishes include “rice and mashed potatoes and traditional in Guatemala black beans. They like too much the black beans,” she said. Some people add vegetables and meat to their beans, explained Yanes, but they are best seasoned with salt, onions and garlic.
While she has taken to cooking American food like turkey for holidays such as Thanksgiving, on Christmas, Yanes cooks the traditional tamales, corn, meat and vegetables that she would eat back in Guatemala. To drink, she makes fruit punch, although it is nothing like the Kool-Aid Fruit Punch most American children grow up with. Rather, to make the punch, Yanes soaks cut up fruit in boiling water. After a while, the water because a delicious, warm, sweet drink.
Since coming to the United States, Yanes has not only maintained cultural Guatemalan connections, but she has returned to Guatemala to visit family every two years. The oldest of nine siblings, Yanes is very fond of her family. “It was so very funny because they are all different age, and it’s a big family,” she said laughing. “All the family is happy. All the family comes to the house to eat [and] talk.”
While Yane is the only one in her family to have moved to the United States, Brandeis students who have been lucky enough to meet her are thrilled she is here. “Olga has been friendly and willing to help since the day we moved in,” said Jake Lane ’19.
