Louis D’Ademo, Staff

An unsung hero of the College’s remote working days due to the pandemic, Custodial Supervisor Lou D’Ademo along with his team of essential employees continued to come to campus to complete their job tasks. This is just one example of his vital contributions since joining Bloomfield College in 2012.

“It was like a ghost town on campus during COVID, but we still came into work every day,” said D’Ademo. “As essential employees, we couldn’t work from home, so we were here disinfecting and cleaning, and maintaining floors that we couldn’t get to when people were here. Though most employees were working off campus, we kept busy with maintenance work.”

D’Ademo, who today is supervising a small team of nine across two shifts and the College’s external cleaning contractor, started at Bloomfield as a Custodian. When Franklin Street Residence Hall was built, he worked as Custodian/Maintenance for the facility.

“It was a lot of work keeping up with all the requests. In 2016, I received an email address and began getting my work orders through the computer. That was an important change for serving the students’ needs,” he said.

In 2021, D’Ademo was asked to serve as Custodial Supervisor. In this role, he oversees all custodians, the cleaning of all the buildings, and is in charge of event set ups, landscaping and snow removal.

“Bloomfield College has been a blessing in my life, and I am so grateful for being brought on. I have been given the opportunity to work my way up here, which is something that is very rewarding to me and makes me feel valued,” he said.

Prior to coming to Bloomfield, D’Ademo was a member of the Labor’s Local 342 Union in Newark, where he worked as a shop steward and construction foreman on a number of jobs for several years.

“I remember working on an incinerator in Newark, on parking garages, and for the general contractor for Budweiser. The state came in and took over the union, and then there was not as much work. I had two kids and a house, needed stability, and went to work for Wyndham in Morristown which later became the Hyatt Summerfield Suites. There, I started as Engineer and worked my way up to Chief Engineer. Later, Hyatt sold to another franchise and 25 of us lost our jobs and I was one of them.”

D’Ademo’s cousin, who was working at the Bloomfield College library, recommended a job at the College. “I’ll never forget that I started the week of Hurricane Sandy,” said D’Ademo. “I had the whole week off. I didn’t need to come to campus for that first week. It was a memorable way to start a new job!”

When asked what one of his favorite projects is at the College, D’Ademo said he “loves doing floors.” He explains that doing floors involves stripping the wax, and then applying new wax. “It is one of my favorite things to do on campus. I love seeing the result when it’s all finished.”

Since his arrival at the College, D’Ademo reports he has supervised some 50 office moves. “One significant move involved moving offices and classrooms from 2 Broad Street. We were leasing space there, and relocated people who worked there onto the main campus,” he said.

Managing event set-ups is another important role for D’Ademo and his team. “The College has hundreds of events every year, and our team sets up and tears down for the next event in all the College’s facilities as well as all the outdoor events,” he said. “I really enjoy working with the campus community, especially helping out the students with their activities and fixing things in their rooms. We want this to be a campus that students want to come to, and we are all here for them.”

Born in Newark, New Jersey, D’Ademo grew up in Belleville, New Jersey. He played football as a sophomore at Belleville High School, and enjoyed riding minibikes when he was growing up. Today, he has been married to his wife for 39 years and has two daughters. He has three grandchildren, all boys, who live nearby – two in Nutley and one in Clifton – and everyone enjoys coming to his house for fun in the family pool.

“The most pleasure I experience in my life right now is my grandchildren,” he said. “But when I think about the future of Bloomfield College, I am reminded of all the commencements that often choke me up when I see the students walking across the stage. It leaves me with much pride to know we are a part of the students earning their degrees, and I am excited about what the future will bring.”