Employee Highlight: Indra Adhikari
March 12, 2025
Brooks Hall custodian recognized for work in challenging building
Indra Adhikari, custodian in the Central Grounds Zone, has been instrumental in supporting customer relationships on Grounds since she joined FM two years ago.
Adhikari initially worked in the South Lawn area before transferring over to Brooks Hall, a unique building that reaches to 75 feet in height with 20-foot-high ceilings, double-story windows and a sprawling staircase.
“She approaches each day with a great attitude and smile on her face even though Brooks Hall is a building with four floors and no elevator,” according to the Rewards & Recognition honor. “Keeping the windows in the building clear of dust and cobwebs had been a challenge in the past. She has taken on the challenge and exceeded expectations of keeping them clean and up to standard.”
At first the building's extensive staircase was a challenge, according to Adhikari.
“I'm used to it now, so they feel like nothing,” she said.
The Central Grounds Zone custodian first moved to the U.S. in July 2012 from Nepal, where she lived in a Bhutanese refugee camp. These camps were established in the late 1980s when tens of thousands of residents were forced to leave the country of Bhutan for nearby Nepal. In the mid-2000s, the United States and several other countries agreed to start a resettlement program.
“Nepal is very beautiful, lots of mountains and lots of hiking,” she said of her country that is home to the tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest. “I have been to Shenandoah National Park in the summer, it reminds me of my country.”
Adhikari initially settled in Richmond with her parents, brother and sister where she attended high school. When she first arrived she only spoke her native language of Nepali, but she started to learn English in high school.
“At that time, I was totally new, everything was new,” she said of her high school experience, adding that her English learning didn't really take off until later once she had started working.
“I mostly learned English at work,” she said.
In 2017, Adhikari moved to Charlottesville with her boyfriend, a custodian at Journey Middle School. She worked on the UVA Health Environmental Services team before transferring to the Academic side of the University.
Outside of work, she enjoys gardening but most of her time is spent caring for her 7-year-old son who is in first grade. Adhikari works an early morning shift starting at 5 a.m. so she can pick up her son from school each day – her “favorite part of her day,” she explains with a smile.
Jane Centofante
Communications senior generalist
UVA Facilities Management
(434) 982-5846
janecentofante@virginia.edu