This story is part of Georgetown Faces, a storytelling series that celebrates the beloved figures, unsung heroes and dedicated Hoyas who make our campus special.
When Tom Crowley arrived at Georgetown in 1997 as a maintenance electrician, he had an unexpected task: decking the university’s 19-foot Christmas tree with lights.
He and his Low Voltage shop team would drive a bucket truck to the tree and wrap it with lights for Georgetown’s annual tree lighting in December.
“Over the years it grew into a bigger event, and we’d always hear ‘more lights!’ he said. “I think last year we had 4,500 lights on the tree. Everybody loves it.”
Twenty-seven years after he started, Crowley now supervises the tree lighting as the supervisor of the low voltage electric department.
In addition to the tree, Crowley oversees the power for indoor and outdoor lighting on Georgetown’s Hilltop Campus, responding to requests for electrical support from all corners of campus. He also works with contractors across the university on projects like LED lighting and electric vehicle charging. His team even maintains the clocks around campus, including the Healy clock tower.
Crowley, a Maryland native, has worked in the electrical field all his life. He started as an electrician in construction, where he helped wire the CIA headquarters, and then for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, where he worked midnights in the train tunnels.
At Georgetown, Crowley has held different positions over his 27-year career, overseeing at times plumbing, HVAC and electrical, and all of maintenance. He’s now settled into leading electrical, a role that lets him still be hands-on.
“I still like to get my hands dirty every now and then,” he said. “I also can help teach other guys, share my knowledge with them. I still get out there a little bit.”
Learn more about Crowley, his nights working in quiet train tunnels, the time he got shocked and spooked, and his behind-the-scenes work to keep the lights on.
Like father, like son: My dad was an electrician. He asked me one day, ‘What do you want to do?’ And I thought, well, that looks kind of fun. So I tried it. I really liked it, so it took off. Fortunately, it stuck, so I enjoyed it and I just kept on going with it.
I’ve been shocked: More than I can count. It happens—little zips here and there. Fortunately, there’ve been few wake-up calls, and it keeps you on your toes. I try to do everything as safely as possible, turn everything off, and that’s what I tell the guys I work with. We always follow the safety procedures. Even if it takes longer, it’s well worth it.
My worst shock: I was an apprentice and putting a fluorescent light tube into a fixture. On each end of the fluorescent light tube are pins that make contact with the sockets. I had my fingers touching both of the pins. I became part of the circuit. It’s a 60-cycle fluctuation going through your body from one hand, through your body to the side. It shook me up. I suppose it was scary, but it helps to have one of those to make you remember. I shouldn’t have had my fingers on those pins.
What it was like working midnights in the Metro tunnels: I worked on the train control systems and tunnel electrical systems. It was 10:00 at night till 6:00 [in the morning], because you can’t go into the tunnels when the trains are running. There are thousands of lights, so you’ve got to keep those in working order. Every now and then they’d bring trains through, and you’d have to be mindful of where you are. There was a lot of brake dust down there, but it wasn’t bad. I never saw any rats.
I had a few close calls: I was in the center, and they were whipping trains through pretty fast, and you had two or three feet of space to stand with trains on both sides of you traveling pretty fast at the same time. That was an experience.
