Day in the Life: Campus Mechanics

Randy Shaw and his father Gaylord took two diametrically opposed career paths.

Gaylord went to college and became a nationally acclaimed journalist. Among his many stops in the media industry, he worked for the Associated Press as a White House correspondent during Richard’s Nixon administration, and in 1978, Gaylord won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting.

Randy, on the other hand, enlisted in the Marines Corp when he was 17 years old, one year after his father earned the most renowned journalism award.

“As much as I complained about it and hated it while I was in, I wouldn’t change anything about it,” Randy said. “You want to the best, you want to be a Marine.”

Following his four-year stint in the service, Randy became an automobile mechanic, and in 1996, he joined Chuck Vistercil operating SDSU’s preventative maintenance program.

“I do what I love and I love what I do,” Randy said.

Despite the dichotomy between Randy’s career choice and that of his father — “Night and day,” Randy described it — both Shaw men embody the same type of work ethic.

“Anything you put your mind to, if you want it bad enough, you can do it,” Randy said, describing the workmanship he learned from his father.

Facts and figures

With almost 300 pickup trucks, SDSU police cars and golf carts, and another 500 pieces of grounds equipment — including lawnmowers, edgers, blowers and weed-whackers — SDSU has one of the largest vehicle fleets in the CSU system.

Vistercil and Shaw, who together have more than 65 years of experience in the automobile servicing industry, inspect approximately 480 vehicles, replace 150 tires and conduct 90 emissions/smog tests each year.

To effectively maintain the fleet, the two mechanics use 2,600 quarts of oil and 69,000 gallons of gas annually. Additionally, they handle service calls for department vehicles — typically 10 per week — and fix dead batteries and flat tires across campus.