A Day in the Life of Jamal

Jamal Bryant grew up in Los Angeles California and moved to Arizona to attend ASU. He is an avid skateboarder, and because of this, he has a natural instinct to tinker with tools.

While working at a local Starbucks, one of his customers was an employee at P.B. Bell. This customer intuitively knew his potential and asked if he ever considered maintenance work. That singular conversation sparked the beginning of Jamal’s exciting journey at P.B. Bell.

Jamal has now been an employee for three years and a Lead Maintenance Tech for the past six months. He also celebrated a new milestone aside from his career recently when he got married!

To learn more about Jamal, check out this Q & A where we chatted with him about his life and time at P.B. Bell.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I’m lucky to live on-site, so after I get ready in the mornings, I (easily) head down to the shop and clock in at 7 a.m. I spend about 30 minutes to an hour creating a gameplan for the day. Once that’s finalized, I make my way to the pool, checking that everything along the way looks pristine. 

When 9 a.m. rolls around, I start on my work orders. I organize the orders by highest to lowest priority – making important decisions about what needs to get done as soon as possible and what can wait. It’s important to be quick and efficient, and to be prepared to handle any job – from electrical to plumbing to AC.

After I finish with top priority work orders, it’s typically lunch time. I go have my lunch, and then come back to complete the rest of my work orders with the goal of finishing my day strong!

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I enjoy how challenging the role can be! It is our job to make an apartment liveable for the next person who will be calling it home, and TLC and attention to detail is crucial to ensure they are happy in their new space. 

I love the satisfaction of knowing what the place looked like before our team goes in, and then what it becomes after we’ve all worked to elevate the space. It can go from dirty and messy, to vibrant in livable with the right amount of care. 

Also, I enjoy seeing the relief on a resident’s face when I am able to fix something in their home. There are times when we have to call a vendor to manage a more complex task – which can be a bummer – but even when we simply identify a problem, that can provide a sense of relief to the resident. 

It’s so rewarding to receive their appreciation and gratitude for helping them navigate an inconvenience (small or large) that’s plaguing their day.

What is your favorite memory from working at P.B. Bell?

I have so many great memories working at P.B. Bell! It’s challenging to select just one, because even the most basic successes have made my career so fun. Truly, anything new that I learn is my favorite memory. 

I’m a person that is up for taking on lots of challenges, so it’s been a joy to figure out how to do things on my own. When my supervisor is OOO, I’ll naturally take on his role to make sure things get done. For example, recently I replaced the fan motor for the rooftop A/C unit – which is something I had never done before. Being able to sit there and soak in that success was amazing!

Also, one place that’s great for making memories are our company gatherings. There, you get to meet new people, and feel a sense of being part of a huge team. Even though employees work different properties, we all have a sense of community and togetherness that is really special. I stay because I like the culture and it fits my personality.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of work?

Skateboarding has been a huge part of my life for the past 25 years – I enjoy every single moment that I get to be on that flat piece of wood with wheels. 

I also have a ton of other hobbies! For example, I love making music with my wife. She plays the piano, and I play guitar, so we enjoy finding time where we can get creative together. We also have drawing date nights and play video games together. Although we can be homebodies, we also love to find the next big thing to do and go out and socialize!

What is your life motto and words to live by?

As someone who is Black and Native American, I’ve overcome adversity and being underestimated, so a motto I live by is: “Trust yourself, trust God and don’t be afraid to fail.”

Failure is part of a learning curve, but I trust in the process and know there is always a successful outcome on the horizon. 

I am so grateful for the people that have given me a chance from the person who hired me, to James MacKey, my supervisor who guides me. And I’m grateful for my mom and the Lord above, who have been my support the entire way. I look forward to continuing to grow and learn in my role at P.B. Bell!