They didn’t hesitate to come to the rescue when a Jordan School District teacher found herself in a serious situation while driving along Bangerter Highway on her way to work.
On this episode of the Supercast, meet Trevor Bradley and Sean Vick, ground crew employees in Jordan’s Facility Services Department. Find out how the two men saved the stranded teacher with a small child in the car, fearing for her safety on the side of the road. And, what happens when we bring the three together for a sweet reunion.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They didn't hesitate to come to the rescue when a Jordan School District teacher found herself in a serious situation while driving along Bangerter Highway on her way to work.
On this episode of the Supercast, meet Trevor Bradley and Sean Vick, ground crew employees in Jordan School District's Facility Services Department. Find out how the two men saved the stranded teacher with a small child in the car, fearing for her safety on the side of the road. And listen in to find out what happens when we bring the three together for a sweet reunion.
We're headed down the hallway at Foothills Elementary to Mariah Nilson's classroom to surprise her with Trevor and Sean. Here we go.
Hey there, how are you?
Mariah Nilson:
Good.
Anthony Godfrey:
We just wanted to come talk with you this morning, interrupt your class a little bit with a couple of people I think you know.
Mariah Nilson:
Oh, yes, hi.
Anthony Godfrey:
I know, you're backing away from me.
Mariah Nilson:
Sorry, I'm just like really caught off guard, but yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
We talked to your principal, she said you could take a surprise.
Mariah Nilson:
Oh, yes, so that is good. Is this why, okay, I like said hi to you in the hallway, and I was like, wait, that's really weird that you're here, but that was really cool.
Anthony Godfrey:
So you did see them, okay. Can you tell me what happened, kind of talk me through that morning?
Mariah Nilson:
Sure, so it was last week and my daughter and I were on our way to Foothills. We were on Bangerter and something had happened and my tire completely blew. But like did not just die, like it really died, like multiple pieces are flying everywhere, it was really dead.
Anthony Godfrey:
So what was the sound like? How did it feel when that happened?
Mariah Nilson:
It was this huge boom and then my car started swerving and I like freaked out. And then my daughter, she's one and a half and she started screaming. And I didn't really know what was going on. I was like, something is happening. Am I losing control of my car? And so it was very scary. And I started-- like, I put my hazards on, started pulling over all these things. And in my head, I'm like, I don't know how to change this. I don't know how to do anything. I wasn't even sure if it was the tire. I just knew something was wrong. I'm not a very big car person. And so I pulled over. And little did I know that these two lovely gentlemen, they pulled over right behind me. They saw it blow, the pieces flying everywhere and came over and pulled right next into an empty parking lot with me and changed it. Which was super helpful because I was able to tend to my daughter who was very scared still from the sound and then they were able to help me. And again, I didn't know how to do anything and they just immediately took it. They're like, “Oh, we got it. You help your daughter. We'll help you and make sure that you are safe.” So that was really cool.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's very fortunate that these two were behind you instead of me, because I would not have been much help. So did it surprise you that it was a couple of Jordan School District employees that happened to be behind you?
Mariah Nilson:
Yeah, that was really cool, a happy coincidence, because I didn't realize until they pulled off that they had a Jordan District vehicle, and then I had my badge on, and that was the first thing that Scott said, is he goes, "Oh, you work for the district too.” And I was like, "Yeah." So then we realized that they are the ones that mowed the lawn here at Foothills, just like a happy coincidence. Like we're like coworkers, but we didn't know it. So that was cool.
Anthony Godfrey:
So you're not just three of the 9,000 employees in Jordan School District who happen to run into each other, but you have this Foothills connection as well.
Mariah Nilson:
Yeah. So that was kind of cool.
Anthony Godfrey:
So they changed the tire. How did it feel driving away?
Mariah Nilson:
So there's another thing my spare tire was flat and I didn't know that.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow.
Mariah Nilson:
And then when they changed it, they said it was flat. So they followed me to the nearest gas station and then they filled my spare tire with air like completely by themselves. They did all of it, which was really nice because again, I don't know how to do that either. And they made sure that my daughter and I were safe. And I think that was the biggest thing. Cause I was like a nervous wreck. I was really like freaking out and my daughter was still upset. She ended up crying for like almost an hour afterwards at the babysitter. She was really scared.
But like they made sure that my daughter and I were safe and that we could get back to Foothills safely. They even showed me like a side road so I didn't have to get back on Bangerter because I was scared of Bangerter at that point. That my car had gone crazy. But they just went out of their way to make sure that my daughter and I were safe, which was really cool.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's amazing. Now, let's get to know you guys. Introduce yourselves.
Sean Vick:
I'm Sean Vick, work on the grounds.
Trevor Bradley:
Trevor Bradley, yep on the grounds.
Anthony Godfrey:
And so tell me about your experience that day. Who was driving?
Trevor Bradley:
I was driving. Yeah, we just kind of were heading off to go do some work at South Tech. And we saw, you know, the car in front of us, she's just, the tire was kind of shaking a little bit and we could smell it kind of burning at first. Yeah, and then we're like, “oh, I hope she pulls off.” And then it, you know, completely, we just tore right off the rim. And then the tire's rolling down the road. So she pulled off the exit and we just kind of followed her. We had no idea she was an employee. We're like, “well, let's see if they need some help.” We want to help them out if they need it, and then we just pulled over. She got out and I saw the badge and I was like, “Oh, you're a district employee.”
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that's pretty cool. That's amazing. And that's a good reminder. It's that you pulled over for whoever was in trouble ahead of you. It wasn't because they're a Jordan District employee.
Trevor Bradley:
No, yeah, definitely not.
Anthony Godfrey:
You're driving around a lot as a part of your job. Have you seen this type of thing happen before? Have you helped other people in the past or have you not encountered something like this?
Trevor Bradley:
This is my first time.
Sean Vick:
Yeah, I haven't. This is my first time also.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So tell me about the experience from your perspective.
Sean Vick:
Well, like Trevor said, we were just driving down the road and I could see the tire was smoking and thought, what's going on with her tire? I didn’t know it was her, but.
Anthony Godfrey:
Which is kind of a bad sign for those listening.
Sean Vick:
Right. That's not a good thing.
Anthony Godfrey:
If your tire is smoking, unless you're a drag racer. Then you’re ok.
Sean Vick:
Right, yeah. And that's when, like he said, pieces started flying off of the tire and then the outer shell rolled off the side of the road and thought, uh-oh, we just thought we'd follow her and make sure that everything was okay. And Trevor's like, “Should we help her?” And I'm like, “Yeah, we better help her.” So that's what we did. We just went in there and it was kind of like a NASCAR pit crew, you know. I just went in the back of her trunk and took out the jack and gave it to Trevor and he immediately knew what to do, over there and started jacking up the car and I got the spare tire, brought it out to him, he took the old tire off, I gave him the new one, he put it on while I put the spare tire back into the trunk and closed it up. I tried to soothe her daughter a little bit because she was a little frightened and was crying but it was just really fast, five minutes and we were done and got her on her way and that was it. We were just glad that we could be there to help her.
Trevor Bradley:
Yeah, definitely.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's pretty remarkable because I'm afraid we're moving as a society away from connecting to each other and away from helping each other and thinking, “oh, it's a stranger, I'm sure they can call AAA. I'm sure they have somebody they can call” rather than diving in to help in the moment. So I'm really impressed and proud that two Jordan District employees on the job are gonna pull over and help whoever needs them.
Trevor Bradley:
Yeah, definitely.
Sean Vick:
That's why we're here.
Anthony Godfrey:
As you thought back on this, how have you felt about these two?
Mariah Nilson:
I've just been really grateful for them. When I got to school, I was like, I'm sure you're curious on how I figured out who you were. So you told me your first names, but I didn't see your badges. I just saw your first names. And I talked to my secretary and you know secretaries are really good at getting information. So I told her I was like, “hey, like this crazy thing just happened. I would love to be able to reach out and like to thank them and to like tell their boss or somebody that they did a really good thing for me today.” Because it was again like as soon as I got out, I was like I don't know how I'm gonna get to work. I don't know how to change anything. I'm on my own. I don't know how to do this. So I figured out who they were, my secretary gave me their bosses emails, so I sent this like big email to their bosses and just said like these are amazing men and I'm very grateful for them. And I still am, even like a week later. And I will forever be grateful for them 'cause they helped me when I needed it and when my daughter needed it. And that was really cool.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I'm really glad you tracked them down and took the time to write that email. That's how we found out about it. And I couldn't wait to meet you and to meet them and to talk about this.
You know, my motto for the district has been, ‘Be curious, be intentional, be united’. And this just epitomizes being united, being someone who's gonna reach out and help. And then on your end, you're gonna make sure that you find out who they are so you can thank them. That's the amazing part, it's like, you know their first names and that's it, and they just kind of disappear into the day and everyone goes about their work. But that's a lasting impact. I'm sure it's something you won't forget.
Mariah Nelson:
No, definitely not.
Anthony Godfrey:
Hopefully it's something your daughter will forget.
Mariah Nelson:
Yes, hopefully so. I would like her to not remember this.
Anthony Godfrey
(laughing) Well, that's remarkable. Thank you for everything you guys have done to support her, like I said, it just, this gives me fuel for a long time. It doesn't surprise me. That's the type of people we have in Jordan District, but it's really exciting to hear about and to meet all of you.
Stay with us. When we come back more with our kind employees taking care of one another.
Break:
In Jordan School District, we like to support students in and outside the classroom along with their families. That's where the Jordan Family Education Center comes in, offering support services and a wide variety of classes for students and their families, free of charge. You can take a class called Blues Busters for children feeling sad or worried. Just Breathe is a class that helps students reduce stress. Or how about a class that supports parents in helping their children make and keep good friends. There are also support groups and free counseling, all provided by Jordan School District school psychologists and counselors. To find out how you can benefit from free family support services offered by the Jordan Family Education Center, call 801-565-7442 or visit guidance.jordandistrict.org.
Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me a little bit about your time in the district and the job that you do.
Trevor Bradley:
I've been with the district for about two and a half years now so kind of a newer employee, been on the grounds crew the whole time. You know, we kind of just take care of you know, in the summer times we take care of the lawns and all the landscaping and wintertime we’re out there keeping the parking lots cleared and salted.
Anthony Godfrey:
So it's been a pretty smooth year this year?
Trevor Bradley:
Yeah, oh yeah. Not much to do.
Anthony Godfrey:
Nobody watches the weather like you guys do.
Sean Vick:
Oh yeah, just tons of snow.
Trevor Bradley:
Yeah, nobody does.
Anthony Godfrey:
And you work some long and some early hours.
Trevor Bradley:
Oh yeah, yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
In fact, tell me about that.
Trevor Bradley:
Lots of 2:00 a.m.’s this year, 3:00 a.m. and long hours. 14, 15 hour days.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, no, I know. We've relied on you guys more this year than ever before. And people think grounds crew, and they don't realize the wide range of jobs that you have and the things we rely on you to do. Really, safety is at the center of what you're doing too. Now tell me about your time in the district.
Sean Vick:
Well, I've been with the district for 27 years. I left for a few years, went to Arizona, and then came back recently. And I was fortunate to get back on at the district. I was in custodial prior to this, but I thoroughly enjoy the place and I was able to get on the grounds with what a great crew, you know, with Easton as our supervisor. It's good teammates and everything. I love the job. And I love being able to go out and help and, like you said, make the schools safe for all the students and teachers and parents.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I really appreciate it. Your jobs are essential. We just, we honestly can't function without you. And I'll bet you were missing Arizona this winter.
Sean Vick:
I surely am. I am.
Anthony Godfrey:
We're glad to have you back and, and we're glad to have you joined Jordan a couple of years ago. Anything about being on grounds crew that people might misunderstand about the job or not realize is part of the job?
Sean Vick:
Your school's not the only school.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah, that’s true.
Sean Vick:
Because a lot of people would like to have their lawn mowed first, you know, or their parking lot plowed first and somebody's got to be last, unfortunately. So people get a little upset and, you know apprehensive, when are they gonna be here?
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.
Sean Vick:
So, we try our best to get there as quick as we can.
Anthony Godfrey:
Honestly, I think we've got the best crews in the state and I talked to a lot of superintendents. We really do. Dedicated people like you who take the job very seriously, love the job.
Sean Vick:
Love it.
Anthony Godfrey:
And it's and it's obvious that you love doing what you do. So, thank you for that. And tell me about your career in Jordan.
Mariah Nilson:
This is my seventh year teaching and my fourth year in Jordan. And I've been at Foothills the whole time under Cherie so she's been great.
Anthony Godfrey:
And what grade do you teach?
Mariah Nilson:
I am currently teaching second. I've kind of bounced around a little bit. I've taught fifth and sixth and now I'm in second.
Anthony Godfrey:
And how are you feeling about the younger kids compared with the older?
Mariah Nilson:
I love them. I love all kids. I've realized like finding there's like fun things in each grade but second grade is really fun.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, that's great. Well, I admire the work that each of you is responsible for in the district and the hard work that you put into it, the early mornings, the late nights, and just thank you for being a part of Jordan and for being such great people.
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.