When former Head Custodian James Perry left in January, Kevin Aviles was named his successor. Only two months later, he was named Staff Member of the Year.

“I have been super impressed with Mr. Aviles,” said AVID teacher, Maggie Wilson. “He is top notch and very personable.”

Aviles was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Florida and New York. His first career was with the Navy, which was what brought him to Virginia. 

“I created curriculum for the Navy,” said Aviles.

After retiring from the Navy, Aviles had a difficult choice to make. He could continue to work for the military as a contractor, or pursue a different career.

“It was either to travel to different states and never be home or be able to go home and see my wife and children so I chose to switch careers and come to Salem,” said Aviles. 

Aviles said his favorite thing about working at Salem is “the interaction with the students and the happy environment.” 

He intends to stay at Salem for the long haul and added that he didn’t even think about the idea of being selected as the Staff Member of the Year.

“It’s very humbling,” said Aviles, “but I can’t forget that my staff has a lot to do with it.”

When he is not busy keeping our halls clean and safe Aviles enjoys tinkering with software and codes.

“If I can think about it then I can ask Google and figure it out,” said Aviles.

He also enjoys a good home cooked meal of rice and beans or bread and steak. 

Aviles and his team are working extra hard to ensure that the building is safe and clean for teachers to pick up their supplies and for administration to work safely and they will continue to do so when it becomes safe for students to enter the building again.