Feature Illustration image by Alex Allen-Walden
From the moment she came to America from Pakistan, Amy Ahmad has dedicated 37 years of her life to Montclair State University. Being a staff member in the housekeeping department is her very first and very last job, she says.
“If I’m retired [and] they ask me to come back, I’m going to work for free,” said Ahmad. “I love my job.”
Ahmad started off as a regular housekeeper, cleaning hallways, classrooms, and working under her superiors. Today, she is an integral part of the management team as a housekeeping supervisor.
Working at Montclair State for so long, she says it has become like a second home for her. It was here that she found comfort after hardship.
Her husband was an engineer for NASA, but as his struggle with diabetes worsened, Ahmad became her family’s primary breadwinner.
Photograph of Amy Ahmad’s family including her husband and three children. Photo courtesy of Amy Ahmad
Saad Ahmad, her youngest of three children, recalls the transition.
“Financial restraints definitely became more of an issue,” Saad said. “She carried us on her back. She basically took over everything as my dad grew more and more ill.”
Amy Ahmad (right) and her husband, Ayaz Ahmad (left) in the 1980’s. Photo courtesy of Saad Ahmad
The housekeeping supervisor’s voice cracks while sitting in her colleague’s office, sharing this emotional memory.
“I [didn’t] give up… I come to work, take care of him.” Ahmad said she did everything she could to watch over her sick husband, support her children, and provide for them financially.
Unfortunately, her husband passed away about 12 years ago.
Preya Sanasie, assistant director of housekeeping services at Montclair State and a good friend of Ahmad, remembers, “She called me… and [informed] me her husband passed. In her arms.”
Ahmad said it was one of the most difficult times she has ever had to endure. She had to move on without the person who came to a new country alongside her and who built a life with her from the little they had.
Still, she had to be strong.
Her son had just started university when her husband passed.
“His dream is that he’s going to be a doctor. Then he thinks that it’s done because [his] father is not here… but I support him. Every little thing, any overtime, I’m here,” says Ahmad while holding back tears.
Saad is now 30 and continuing his medical studies at the University of Texas for pulmonary and critical care.
“Despite her grief, she rarely showed it and really became the backbone of the family,” says Saad, reflecting on these times. He goes on to say his mother’s strength allowed him to “process everything while still moving forward.”
Ahmad took about two weeks off from work to grieve her husband. Upon her return, her sadness could be felt, says Sanasie, a close co-worker. Her responsibilities as housekeeping supervisor helped keep her busy.
Preya Sanasie (left) and Amy Ahmad (right) pose for a photo inside Cole Hall. Ahmad strongly values their partnership. Photo by Alondra Santiago
After seeing his mother’s colleagues attend his father’s funeral, Saad said, “I think, in a way, [working] was therapeutic for her just because it gave her a sense of comfort and also a sense of support.”
Ahmad wakes up at one in the morning to commute over an hour to Montclair State. In 17-inch snow, she is there, Sanasie said. Even when she receives a last-minute phone call on her day off, she is ready to clock in.
“My mom, although five-foot tall, is definitely like a giant whose shoulder I stand upon,” Saad said.
