Tony Ventura has been part of the work force since age 12, when he began his career as a paperboy in San Jose, his hometown. He then worked as a grocery box-stacker and ladder assembler before getting a job at Levi Strauss right out of college, where he soon rose in the rankings.

“[At Levi Strauss] I was the lead in ship- ping and receiving,” Ventura said. “I handled prepping all the merchandise and putting them into boxes. It was basically an all-day job, we started at about six in the morning and had to have everything boxed and ready to go when the first truck arrived at seven.”

After 12 years, Ventura wanted to try some- thing new, so he applied to be a custodian for the MVLA District. He was hired as a custo- dian for Mountain View High School before being promoted to the lead custodian for Los Altos High School two years later.

Throughout Ventura’s time at the school, he has seen the school go through many changes.

“At the time when I came, the library wasn’t there, the cafeteria was where the library is, the quad used to be where the cafeteria is now and the quad used to have steps,” Ven- tura said. “Every time it rained hard, people would get boats, put ducks and swim in the quad. [Also] the 100 and 200 wing used to go all the way across to the end of the 300 wing.”

But while the school itself has gone through a lot of changes, Ventura says one thing has stayed constant: the incredible staff and kids.

“I’ve always liked the staff, the crew [and] the kids here at Los Altos,” Ventura said. “Ever since I’ve been here, I’ve never had any problems with the kids, they’ve been a joy to work with.”