As Barb Brower walks into the Kern Auditorium, she is surprised by the absence of coffee cups, spills and newspapers typically strewn across the floor.

"Sometimes you could go in there and have to take a shovel through the room," she said.

Dressed in a red long-sleeved shirt, jeans and black steel-toed Skechers, she waltzes across the room picking up garbage, smiling all the while.

"And then I do what I do best -- talk," she said with a chuckle.

Brower is one of Penn State's 312 janitorial employees.

These workers provide services for about 230 buildings on campus.

She wakes up each weekday at 3 a.m. and makes an hour-long commute to campus to begin work at 5 a.m.

She lays out her clothes the night before, however.

"You'd never believe what I'd wear if I got dressed at 3 a.m.," she said, laughing.

She cleans the University Faculty Senate office of the Kern Building and Carpenter Building, keeping the floors, desks and bathrooms spotless for her "customers."

In the heart of winter, getting up early isn't always easy, she said. "It's a matter of necessity," Brower said.

"There's mornings when it's cold and blustery and you just want to roll over," she added.

Brower is brimming with personality at 5 a.m., even though a long day is ahead.

Her shift ends at 1:30 p.m., but after Brower clocks out she heads to one of her other jobs, either as a cleaner for private residences or at Earlystown Manor, a bed and breakfast.

On Saturdays, she works as a cleaner at an Altoona business complex.

"God's given me the strength to work two jobs," Brower said.

"I've been doing it for seven years," she said.

Brower moves from room to room in the Senate office, pulling garbage and recycling.

She even pauses to flip the copier machine on in the break room -- that way it's warmed up and ready for the staff when they come in for work, she explains.

She said she takes great pride in her work -- both in the clean environment she produces and in the friendships she has with co-workers and the occupants of the offices she cleans.

In fact, she's famous in the Senate office for her upbeat personality.

"She always has a smile on her face and she always has a joke or a story to tell," said university curriculum coordinator Sherry Walk, who said she has known Brower for at least five years.

Walk added that Brower is always invited to events like birthday celebrations, holiday parties and baby showers.

"I've always been very blessed to work with nice people," Bower said, adding that some people have bad perceptions of janitors.

"Some people look down on us because we're 'just janitors,' but we're all part of the puzzle. God forbid we didn't pull trash one week in these buildings."

Kadi Corter, a staff assistant in the Senate office Brower cleans, said Brower is always going out of her way to help others, often selflessly.

"People shouldn't take for granted all the hard work she does," she said. "They should appreciate it."

Brower's selflessness extends to community causes, too.

She is an active participant and leader in Relay For Life, an event that raises money for cancer research. Brower also has a personal connection to the disease: Her mother died from cancer. She also volunteers for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC). The organization's goal is to build a nationwide network of recreational trails from former railroads. Brower said when she retires she hopes to do more volunteer work.

"I'd like to visit people who never have visitors just to brighten someone's day," she said.

But for now, Brower satisfies her future plans with a cruise some employees in the Kern Building have organized for next December.

"I've tried to budget it into my little budget," she said.