Story by: Zoe Marcum, FS Communications Student Assistant
Every day, thousands of students and employees move through the University of Tennessee, Knoxville without thinking twice about the lights that turn on, the doors that lock, the air conditioning that keeps classrooms cool, or the plumbing that simply works. Behind each of those everyday moments is a maintenance team solving problems before most people ever notice them. Their work is constant, often invisible, and absolutely essential to keeping campus running, among those teams are three women whose jobs look very different but their perspectives have made them valuable members of their crews.
Alexis thrives on troubleshooting. When a repair doesn’t have an obvious answer, she’s the one who starts thinking creatively, looking for alternatives that others might not immediately see. Her ability to approach problems from different angles often helps her team find solutions faster. Carly’s coworkers pay close attention to her skill set, valuing what she can do rather than what they assume she should be able to do. Her steady, organized approach helps keep projects on track and ensures that repairs are done thoroughly. Nicole’s work is shaped by communication and care for the people she serves. She thinks about how repairs affect students and faculty, the noise, the disruption, the timing, and adjusts her approach to minimize inconvenience. She also excels at helping building occupants feel comfortable and informed during repairs.
Even though each woman brings her own strengths, none of them succeed alone. Maintenance at UTK depends on collaboration, different personalities, different approaches, and different skill sets working together. Alexis’s creativity, Carly’s organization, and Nicole’s communication style all complement the work their teammates do. Their crews rely on people who think differently, solve problems differently, and approach challenges from different angles. Diversity in maintenance isn’t just about demographics, it’s about having a team made stronger by varied ways of thinking.
Zooming out reveals just how complex maintenance work really is. It’s not just fixing things. It’s minimizing disruptions during class hours, responding to emergencies, working around students in crowded residence halls, balancing safety with speed, keeping living spaces comfortable, and preserving historic buildings that require specialized care. Tasks can take anywhere from a few minutes to two weeks, depending on the issue. And on a college campus, having women in maintenance isn’t just helpful, it’s necessary. Certain spaces, such as women’s restrooms or private areas in residence halls, require female staff for access. Their presence ensures repairs can happen quickly and appropriately.
Only five to ten percent of the maintenance workforce is made up of women, and each of these three has had moments where they’ve had to push back against assumptions. Some people still assume women aren’t as knowledgeable about tools or technical systems, even when they clearly are. Alexis, Carly, and Nicole have all had experiences where they needed to prove their expertise, but they’ve also found support among coworkers who value skill over stereotype.
Although their approaches differ, all three women share the same goal, keeping Rocky Top running so students and faculty can focus on learning, teaching, and research. Their stories are a reminder that the best maintenance teams aren’t built by hiring people who all think alike. They’re built by bringing together people with different strengths who share the same commitment to serving the university. Women make up a small percentage of UTK’s maintenance workforce, but their impact is far larger than their numbers, not because they are women, but because they are skilled, dedicated professionals whose work keeps the university moving.