2008 Woodie Awards
The meaning behind a smile
Leo Erik immigrates from Estonia and into the heart of the Oxford community
Margaret Watters
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: Features
World War II swept 18-year-old Leo Erik away from agricultural studies and into conflict. So in March 1943, the college student put down his textbooks and picked up a rifle.
"I was 18 years old and I was given a rifle and pair of heavy boots," Erik said.
And he has trekked a long way from his former home in Estonia-all the way to the Miami University Recreational Sports Center (RSC) in Oxford, Ohio.
Erik is behind the RSC counter from 7 a.m. until noon most mornings, smiling through the early hours of the day, as members go to early morning workouts. Erik has been employed by Miami for 17 years, with jobs ranging from fixing loose door hinges, mopping floors to swiping Miami ID cards.
"With the building maintenance, I fixed what was broken," he said. "I like finding what's broken and what needs to be fixed. There's that 'ah!' moment that means so much … it's all about work satisfaction."
Ron Siliko, director of customer and facility services at the RSC, appreciates the different dimension Erik, at 83 years old, adds to his staff.
"I think it's great exposure for our student staff to get to work with someone from an older generation," Siliko said. "It's a great dynamic and is a great interaction for both sides to hear each other out and begin to understand each other."
Although an Oxford resident for 42 years, Erik grew up in Estonia, a small northern European nation. His intended college major, forestry, was never completed because of the need for soldiers in World War II.
Erik shares his interest in farming and forestry with his father, who instilled the values in which Erik still lives by today.
"I was in Estonia and my father was a forester and we mostly lived in the country and in the woods," Erik said. "Our father was very strict on us. (My brothers and I) still honor our old ways of living."
His brother, like Erik's father, is also a forester in Estonia, and now responsible for one- fourth of Estonia's recreational forests.
"I was 18 years old and I was given a rifle and pair of heavy boots," Erik said.
And he has trekked a long way from his former home in Estonia-all the way to the Miami University Recreational Sports Center (RSC) in Oxford, Ohio.
Erik is behind the RSC counter from 7 a.m. until noon most mornings, smiling through the early hours of the day, as members go to early morning workouts. Erik has been employed by Miami for 17 years, with jobs ranging from fixing loose door hinges, mopping floors to swiping Miami ID cards.
"With the building maintenance, I fixed what was broken," he said. "I like finding what's broken and what needs to be fixed. There's that 'ah!' moment that means so much … it's all about work satisfaction."
Ron Siliko, director of customer and facility services at the RSC, appreciates the different dimension Erik, at 83 years old, adds to his staff.
"I think it's great exposure for our student staff to get to work with someone from an older generation," Siliko said. "It's a great dynamic and is a great interaction for both sides to hear each other out and begin to understand each other."
Although an Oxford resident for 42 years, Erik grew up in Estonia, a small northern European nation. His intended college major, forestry, was never completed because of the need for soldiers in World War II.
Erik shares his interest in farming and forestry with his father, who instilled the values in which Erik still lives by today.
"I was in Estonia and my father was a forester and we mostly lived in the country and in the woods," Erik said. "Our father was very strict on us. (My brothers and I) still honor our old ways of living."
His brother, like Erik's father, is also a forester in Estonia, and now responsible for one- fourth of Estonia's recreational forests.
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