My dad was working here at the time, and I just liked it here. I like being around the kids and feeling like I’m accomplishing something for them.
—RICH OLIVASTRI
DECADES OF DEDICATION: Keeping the Lights on at Girard for 90 Years
April 8, 1974. That’s the day Otello Olivastri began working in the Heat, Light and Power Department at Girard College.
Little did Otello know that was the day he lit the flame of a legacy that is still glowing more than a half century later.
For the past 51 years, the behind-the-scenes work of Otello, his son Rich, and grandson Marc have kept the lights on, the water heated, and the systems humming on Girard’s campus.
Combined, the Olivastris have generated an amazing 90-year dynasty of dedicated service to the school.
Duo Times Two
Rich, chief engineer in Heat, Light and Power, began working at Girard in 1981, and he worked alongside his father for almost 10 years. The current Olivastri father-son duo have worked together approximately 26 years. Marc, certified energy manager, started out as a grounds crew member at Girard in 1998 before transferring to Heat, Light and Power about a year later.
After graduating from Philadelphia Wireless Technical Institute with a certification in HVACR service, Marc earned an associate’s degree in liberal arts and behavioral sciences at Community College of Philadelphia, then attended Temple University to take part in classes from their engineering technology program, before pursuing a bachelor of science degree in information technology from the University of Phoenix.
Rich Olivastri, left, and his father Otello on the main floor of Girard’s power plant.
Together they are responsible for ensuring that the water, electrical, heating and air conditioning systems, fire suppression, and elevators are running across the campus, overseeing routine maintenance that needs to be performed, working with outside contractors on projects, and troubleshooting any problems that occur. The Olivastris also maintain commercial kitchen and laundry equipment and make recommendations when equipment needs to be replaced.
Music, then Mechanics
Rich Olivastri started playing the drums when he was 12 and later went to the Combs College of Music in Philadelphia for a few years. While attending the college, he was required to do a musical performance where he was a student teacher. He ended up at Girard teaching percussion to students in a second-floor classroom in the Armory.
Before Rich started working at Girard, he already had been a drummer in professional dance bands that toured around the country.
“One time they asked my band to perform,” Rich said. “We played for the kids in the Chapel.”
After several years of traveling and performing, Rich shifted gears and became an auto mechanic. In 1983, he enrolled at Philadelphia Wireless Technical Institute and graduated in 1984 with a certification in HVACR Service, specializing in air conditioning repair work.
During his time in the program, Otello approached his son about an opportunity to work in his department at Girard.
“He said to me, ‘There’s an opening at Girard; do you think you’d be interested?” Rich recalled. “I didn’t know anything about the plant operations at the school, but I came here, and I learned about all the mechanical systems across the campus.”
Forty-four years later, his expertise is invaluable during major renovation projects like when Founder’s Hall underwent a $12 million makeover in 2023. He and Marc met with the architects and construction team and made sure they knew important details about the building.
“When people come in here and do a major project, they have long discussions with us,” Rich said. “Then they do their engineering, and their
architects come in.”
He explained that some issues were resolved after these discussions.
“It could have been bad, but we were involved with it to give them the information,” Rich said.
“First time, the right time”
Rich and Marc are diligent about ensuring that any work handled by outside contractors is done correctly.
“Contractors come to the HLP department, and we give them all the information they need,” Rich said. “It’s important to make sure they don’t do something foolish, and then they keep charging the college for change orders. First time, the right time.”
Rich emphasized the importance of communication when outside companies are needed to do repair projects.
“The company needs to send the people who have the experience with what we’re telling them what needs to be fixed,” he said.
Rich and Marc are also involved with making decisions about commercial equipment at the school, including dryers and washing machines in the laundry department.
“Everything that goes on here, whether it’s equipment, whatever, we
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Rich Olivastri works with Quamir Crenshaw, maintenance mechanic, to fix a belt on the exhaust fan on the roof of Banker Hall.
Rich helps Marc with removing and replacing air conditioning filters on the roof of Banker Hall.
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have a hand in that to try to give as much help as we can to the school,” Rich said. “When there’s a challenge, that’s good because then we can come up with an answer.”
Pair of Problem Solvers
During this past summer, they oversaw dozens of major capital projects happening across campus, including the replacement of water backflow devices, known as Reduced Pressure Zone (RPZ) valves, which the Philadelphia Water Department now requires to ensure the safety of the city’s water supply.
“It’s a massive job because we have 12-inch water lines which are really big,” Rich said. “These lines have to be moved outside into enclosed houses to operate properly.”
The valve replacement project is expected to be completed during this fiscal year, Marc said.
Other projects included upgrading the Trane building automation system on devices in the power plant, making major mechanical upgrades to the high school swimming pool, repairing an underground fire line in the Chapel parking lot, working with the grounds department on the installation of a new automated irrigation system, and continuing to upgrade lighting fixtures with LED lights across the campus.
Experience Matters
Their decades of experience at Girard give them many opportunities to help school leaders avoid potential problems before they occur, including logistical issues.
Marc shared that about 10 years ago someone proposed closing the kitchen in Manley Hall and having all students eat their meals in Banker Hall.
He explained that in 2001 everything was engineered so that students in
Everything that goes on here, whether it’s equipment, whatever, we have a hand in that to try to give as much help as we can to the school.
When there’s a challenge, that’s good because then we can come up with an answer.
—RICH OLIVASTRI
the four EMS dorm buildings would go to the cafeteria in Manley.
“They thought at the time it would save all this money, and it just didn’t work out that way,” Marc said. “We said, ‘This is going to be a nightmare when it’s 20 degrees outside. Once the weather got bad with the snow and ice, getting the kids in and out of jackets, logistically it was a nightmare.”
When this idea resurfaced again, Marc and Rich advised school leaders not to proceed with making that change.
“They listened, and it didn’t happen,” Marc said. “There are things you can’t look up, but through experience, we can say, ‘We don’t recommend this. Here’s the data supporting it. Now make your decision.’”
24-7 Operation
Even when the Olivastris are off duty, they are ready to spring into action to handle emergencies on campus.
“The scariest thing is when the fire pump goes off because you don’t know why it happened,” Marc said.
Rich Olivastri speaks with contractors from Capital Valve Service about a boiler repair project.
“If that fire pump goes off, say two o’clock in the morning, it’s going to call us,” Rich added. “We’re on the phone immediately, and I’m already getting dressed. My clothes are by my bed every night.”
When Rich received Girard’s Distinguished Service Award in 2009, his wife jokingly said that she deserved one too because the calls wake her up in the middle of the night.
“She told the president at the time, ‘Everything that goes on with this college, I’m right there with him,’” Rich said.
With advances in computer technology, Rich and Marc can remotely monitor the buildings, alarm points and fire pumps.
“There’s no leaving here at four,” Rich said. “I’m on call, and he’s on call.”
He added that they receive more calls during the winter months.
“While the kids are sleeping in bed, we’re making sure that the heat doesn’t go off,” Rich said. “In the wintertime, this is a 24-hour operation.”
The Olivastris also have a cadre of outside contractors they work with who can come to campus if a problem occurs.
Olivastri Legacy at Girard
Otello passed away in 2002, but his love for the school never waned.
“My father wanted to know what was going on here,” Rich said. “Even
when he had cancer and was in bed, he would tell me to come over. He wanted to know everything about what was going on here up to his death.”
Knowing that his son and grandson are carrying on the Olivastri legacy at Girard would make Otello “very proud,” Rich said.
“He’d be excited,” Marc added. “When I started working here, he was still alive, and he would stop down to visit.”
Despite being offered jobs elsewhere, Rich has remained at Girard for more than 40 years.
“My dad was working here at the time, and I just liked it here,” he said. “I like being around the kids and feeling like I’m accomplishing something for them.”
The students at Girard are a big part of why Rich and Marc have remained at the school for decades.
“We’re not here for us,” Rich said. “We’re here for them. If you don’t have that mindset, then you shouldn’t work here.”
Retirement?
Unprompted, Rich addressed the question that people often ask him: How long are you going to stay at Girard?
“I don’t even think about it,” Rich said. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, but I’m not there yet. I like working with Marc, and I’m enjoying my life, doing everything I want to do.”
Although retirement isn’t on Rich’s radar, he knows the Olivastri legacy could live on –Marc’s sons, now 10 and eight, might one day follow in their footsteps.
“Maybe one of them will work here,” Marc said. “Who knows? Anything’s possible.”
Marc Olivastri logs into a software system connected to the air handler unit on the roof of Banker Hall to check for any operational issues.
Rich Olivastri stands in front of a tank that feeds water to the steam boilers in the Girard power plant.
Rich Olivastri checks the water lines in the west tunnel.