If you are a student living on the Bob Jones University campus, or a member of the faculty, chances are you have visited the BJU Post Office before. Even in an age where emails and text messages are the norm, the Post Office remains an important fixture of BJU culture.
Every letter and package that arrives is sent to these unassuming rooms sandwiched between Founders Memorial Amphitorium and the popular Den, to the care of university Postmaster Mark Stuber. Stuber has worked for the post office for 25 years. Not even his coworkers, Kelly Payne and Rebecca Spare, have worked there for as long as he has.
“I never thought I’d be doing it this long, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” Stuber said. “It’s been a real blessing.”
The Post Office is open every Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Payne, the assistant postmaster, has worked there for more than five years. She is often the first to arrive every morning before the post office opens. She also helps oversee the arrival of the mail.
“I come in, and I open things that need to be opened like the cash registers and the drop box,” Payne said. “Then, typically, USPS will come with their packages, and we log all these packages in for each individual student.”
While the BJU Post Office is privately owned, they cooperate with several shipping companies like USPS, FedEx, and even DHL. Once all the mail arrives, each piece is swiftly catalogued into a computer database. Then the staff sorts it all into individual bins and boxes.
The larger packages remain at the main office, waiting to be claimed. Students and faculty come in to pick up their orders throughout the afternoon. They also have the option to ship letters and packages out as well. Student workers can often be seen behind the counter, helping the staff.
“I’m only part-time, so I don’t usually come in usually until about 10 a.m.,” said Spare, who has worked at the Post Office for three years. “And by that time, a lot of times, the mail has usually come, and I help sort the mail. I work the counter a lot, giving out packages, shipping things.”
As for smaller packages and letters, they are sent to the student mailboxes at the end of the day. The Mary Gaston women’s dorm and R.K. Johnson men’s dorm each have their own mail rooms, with post office boxes for each student living on campus. The Post Office also delivers mail to the Campus View Apartments across Wade Hampton Boulevard.
Sometimes, these packages contain surprises you wouldn’t expect to see in the mail. The staff has seen everything from beach balls and stuffed animals to cockroaches and chickens. Once, there was a lost letter that had been sent over 30 years ago. Thankfully, the Post Office was able to find the address and send it to its destination at last.
For Stuber and his team, the best thing about handling the mail every day is the opportunity to interact with people.
“I like the interaction at the counter with the customers and the students,” Stuber said. “I enjoy the variety of, one minute you’re doing one thing and the next you’re doing something completely different. It’s all related, but there’s a nice variety of interesting things.”
