Warren Daniel

Maintenance Assistant

“I would never have had the confidence to do this when I started.”

“I started in the maintenance team as a volunteer around four years ago. I came straight from college to get some experience and I’d been told it was a good place to work. After a year a vacancy came up, I was encouraged to apply and was lucky to get the job.

I have autism and when I started here, I wasn’t able to work on my own. I also found it very difficult to talk to people. Now, I’m able to do both of those things. My team call me a superstar but they’re the ones that have really helped me. Showing patience and helping me learn new skills. Once I’ve been shown how to do something a couple of times, I’m confident to have a go on my own. It’s not been without some problems though, I remember working on a shower in one of the rooms. The water hadn’t been turned off and I ended up being the barrier between the water and it damaging the rest of the room.

I never thought I’d be doing anything like this either, having my photograph taken and telling my story. I’m proud to be recognised as a Human of Warwick. All I want to do is a good job and I really enjoy getting the rooms ready for the students. It’s such a big step for some of them, especially those travelling from other countries. I want them to be able to come somewhere they feel comfortable and not homesick. I also enjoy talking with them now, helping them settle in and finding out about them.

Outside of the University I like to spend time with my family and I’m a huge Coventry City fan. My dad is a fan, so he brought me up to support them. I follow them home and away and rarely miss a game.”