A Denver Public Schools employee worked his way from janitor to principal.

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Michael Atkins started his career with the school district as a custodian and was recently named principal of Stedman Elementary, a school he once attended, KUSA reported.

"I took pride in the bathrooms I cleaned. I took pride in the rooms that I vacuumed," Atkins told KUSA.

Atkins was working as a custodian for the district when he ran into his second grade teacher from Stedman, who influenced him to go into the classroom and become a teacher.

From there, he worked his way into administration and back to Stedman.

"I'm home. I'm home. This is home for me," Atkins told KUSA.

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