Igor Matkovic came to the United States at the age of 20 without knowing a single word of English.
Today, he’s the evening shift custodian manager for the Office of Facility Services, a devoted football fan and the second recipient of Chancellor Michael Martin’s Service Spotlight award.
“When I first got here, I think I cried for almost a year,” Matkovic said. “I was 20, and I had just left all of my friends. It was just one of those things where I thought, ‘Oh my God, where am I?’ If I didn’t start working at LSU, I wouldn’t be as happy as I am today.”
Matkovic and his family came to Baton Rouge from Bosnia in 2000 to “start a better life.”
In 1991, Matkovic, his mother and his younger sister left home to live in refugee camps across their war-torn nation and ended up across the country from their father. When his parents were reunited two years later, Matkovic was sent to continue his education in Croatia and lived with priests and nuns for a year and a half.
Once Matkovic graduated from high school, the family decided to move to the U.S.
“My parents still didn’t see a future for me and my sister [in Bosnia],” said Matkovic. “So we had to move.”
The family, originally assigned to move to Cleveland, Ohio, was convinced to move to Baton Rouge by postcards of LSU’s campus sent by a family member.
Matkovic soon got a job at the University, working as a custodian. He still remembers his first day on the job — Aug. 22, 2000.
“I will never forget a lady from human resources named Trina who was asking me all these questions,” Matkovic said. “The only thing I knew how to say was ‘thank you.’ I would just keep repeating myself.”
Matkovic said he began taking night classes with international students to learn English and his speech got better each day.
Today, Matkovic manages more than 80 custodians on the evening shift, going from building to building to make sure campus is ready for the next day.
He is known to have a personal relationship with each of his employees, meeting with each almost every day.
“People ask me, ‘How can you have people follow you?'” Matkovic said. “But I say, ‘They don’t follow me; they just trust me.’ I think the trust came with seeing me every day.”
Students may also have seen him driving around on a golf cart inspecting campus.
Matkovic said he loves helping students and interacts with them every day, giving directions and helping them with anything they may need.
“LSU changed my life,” Matkovic said. “If it was not for LSU, I don’t know where I would be.”
 
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