Cynthia Wilson
From the Ground Up
Cynthia Wilson has been a Team Lead on the Custodial Staff at Wake Forest University for 2 years but has been on the job for 7 years. In 2019, she performed in Forklift Danceworks’ From the Ground Up, a dance featuring the movement and stories of WFU’s Custodial, Maintenance and Utilities, Landscaping, Construction, and Waste Reduction employees.
“A lot of times people think being a custodian is…nothing. But I just want everybody to know to take at heart what you do […] We need to carry ourselves like our job is important because without custodians, the campus wouldn’t be what it is, you know?”
Performers aren’t always on board with Forklift’s vision at first and, like many others, Cynthia originally thought she would just support the show from “behind the scenes.” But, before she knew it, she was center stage. Listen to Cynthia’s interview (above) with Forklift choreographer Gretchen Lamotte to hear about what changed her mind about performing and how the show impacted her life on the job.
Read the transcript of their conversation below.
Cynthia Wilson: My name is Cynthia Wilson, and I’m a Team Lead of custodians at Wake Forest University. I’ve been a Team Lead now two years and I’ve been a custodian here at Wake Forest seven years now I’ve been here.
Gretchen Lamotte: Well, yeah, what do you love about your job?
CW: The main thing I like about my job… I like people. I’m just very talkative and I just enjoy being around people. So I just enjoy meeting the different people, the different staff members. I enjoy working with my team. I have a wonderful team that I work with. And then also, I enjoy my day — my work — because I enjoy cleaning and keeping the atmosphere clean. And also when the students is here, I enjoy working with them and making sure they have a clean environment as well.
GL: Awesome. And what do you want people to know about your work or about you and your coworkers?
CW: You know, the main thing is…a lot of times people think being a custodian is…we don’t…it’s nothing. But I just want everybody to know to take at heart what you do and know that we are professionals as well. So we need to carry ourselves as professionals. We need to carry ourselves like our job is important because without custodians, you know, the campus wouldn’t be what it is, you know? So I just want us as a department to know that our jobs do matter.
GL: Mhmm. Let’s talk about the show. What did you think when we first showed up and, you know, brought this idea up, that we wanted to do a show with you all, you know? What did you think?
CW: Well, when y’all first came, I was like, “Who are these people? What are they talking about? What do they want to do?” You know, kind of like skeptical at first, you know? And then when I started talking to Allison and whatnot, she was just letting me know what you wanted to do. It was kind of like, “Nah, I don’t know, I don’t know about that,” because everybody was like, “I’m not going to be a part of it” and “I’m not going to dance” and “I can’t dance” and dah, dah, dah…. But once it came forth, it was a great idea, you know? And like, cause at first you had your little thoughts, like “What they want?” and “What’s all this about?” and stuff. So, you know, the more we talked about it and the more you — because you guys came up like three different times — and the more you guys came around and the more you kind of thought of us and gave us an idea of what y’all was doing, then that’s when we got comfortable and it was, “Okay, I think this is going to be a good idea.” But once it actually happened, that’s when it was like, “Oh wow!” It was awesome.
GL: Yeah. Do you remember when in the process you felt more excited about it or what made you decide to be part of it?
CW: I don’t even know how I got to be a part of it because I think you guys told me just to come to see or something. I didn’t even know I was going to be a part of it. And then I think I came down here, y’all I think had got a group of people together. And then, so I just came down, and that was, “No, I’m just going to be supportive. I’ll go down there” and whatnot. But then I ended up doing something and y’all was like, “Yes, yes, yes! That’s right on time. Yes!” And so then I said, “Well, I might as well go ahead and be a part of it.” Because I didn’t want to be a party pooper, you know, and say, “No, I’m not doing that. No.” So when y’all said “Yes, Cynthia, that’s good!” and stuff, you know, so I said, “Okay, no problem. I’ll go ahead and be a part of it.” And so when we started practicing and everything, that’s when I was like, “Oh wow, we’re going to really do something!” You know, it was a lot, but it was all worth it, you know, because we did this for our team. You know, we did this for our group and we did this for our community. So at the end, it all paid off. Where at first I wasn’t excited because I was just like, I was going to be supportive. You know how you can be supportive behind the scenes? And that’s what I was going to do at first. But then I went down there with my talking… That’s what got me in trouble is me talking. But it’s all good. I really enjoyed it. Yeah, I did. I enjoyed it a whole lot. So yeah, it was good. And now, of course, my family, they enjoyed it and whatnot. And my brother, he was like, “Girl, you was out there just killin’ it!” Because I was trying to make it worthwhile, you know, I wanted the people to be excited about it. So I just gave it my all in all.
GL: And what do you think that you or your coworkers learned through the process?
CW: I think the main thing out of it is teamwork, that we’re a team. We’re a community. It’s not about just one department. It’s about the whole Facilities because it’s just not custodians, you know, we have landscapers, you know, and then we have the maintenance, you know, we have different departments. And to come together as one that just really made it exciting. I was able to meet some people that I didn’t know. And even now when I still see [them], I might not know their names, but when I see their face, you know, we speak and stuff now because we got a relationship now, you know? And it’s not about my department, it’s not about your department, but we as a community, as a whole. So that did that made a real big difference — how we was able to come together as a whole department like that.
GL: Yeah. That’s awesome, Cynthia. Anything else about the show that you want to share or anything else that stands out?
CW: I think the main thing was for the students to see what we do on campus, you know? Because when we first did the production, some of the students, they were like, “Hey! You was in the production! You did the show!” And so when the kids said that, that was just kind of like a push to kind of like do a little bit more and let them know that, you know, you guys mean a lot to us on this campus. It’s not just our job, it’s a community and we’re a part of you guys, you guys are part of us.
GL: That’s beautiful, Cynthia. Thank you, Cynthia!
CW: You’re welcome, love. You’re welcome. I enjoyed talking, thank you for this opportunity. And it was my pleasure talking to you.
GL: Mmm, thank you, Cynthia. It’s my pleasure as well. I appreciate you. And yeah, so glad to catch up.
CW: Well, anyway you enjoy the rest of your day. And I’ll talk with you later.
GL: You too. All right.
CW: Alright, bye-bye.
On the Job: 20 Portraits from 20 Years highlights the work of twenty people who have collaborated and performed with Forklift Danceworks. Featuring new interviews between Forklift choreographers and our collaborators, the series shares the voices and experiences of people whose work sustains our communities.
New portraits will be released each month, so follow us on Facebook and Instagram to meet more Forklift performers throughout the year!
This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.
