A chemistry teacher forgot his key at home and is trapped outside of a lab five minutes before the final exam is scheduled to begin. A freshman’s key is inside his Kiewit dorm room and he can’t afford to pay for food much less the front desk’s fine for lost keys. A certain university President has to get to a meeting and is locked out of his office.

These three people are most likely going to meet with Brother Jim Heidrick, S.J.

Bro. Jim has helped people in situations like these hundreds of times in his more than 40 years at Creighton. As the campus locksmith, Brother Jim has been in charge of every key to every room in every building on campus.

He estimates that he oversees more than 20,000 keys.

A native of Lincoln, Neb., Heidrick realized that the Jesuit community was his calling and he joined the novitiate in 1959. He came to Creighton in 1964 at the age of 15 and has served the University ever since.

“It’s been my calling and my passion to become a novice. I had to make a decision to be a Jesuit brother or not,” Heidrick said. “I’m really not a professor at all, like most Jesuit fathers.”

He believes it’s his calling to be a brother. “It’s a good possibility that the Lord called me to be a Jesuit brother. So, that’s exactly what I did.”

Jesuit brothers are different from priests since they don’t receive extensive training and are not ordained. They work for the people but do not provide service through Mass, communion, confession and education. However, they still focus on service to others just as all Jesuits do.

“When he arrived at Creighton, he was one of three people in charge of campus maintenance,” Fr. Jack Zuercher, S.J. said. “At the time, there wasn’t campus security or grounds management.”

Brother Jim and his other colleagues were in charge of keeping Creighton functioning and keeping campus safe.

Lennis Pederson, Director of Facilities Management, spoke of Brother Jim’s committment and honesty in his work.

“He’s a firm, accurate individual that has the kindest heart,” Pederson said. “He’s just a great guy.”

Through the years, Brother Jim worked as the electrician, the grounds engineer, the boiler room supervisor, the plumber, the radio, TV and telephone repairman and worked on roof repairs of several buildings.

His most notable trade has been that of a locksmith. In 1984, Heidrick took over the job from George Flicker and since then, he’s kept a tight record of every single key for campus buildings and even buildings off campus, including Creighton University Medical Center and other clinics.

Heidrick’s collection of original keys have come to the rescue of faculty, staff, students and even presidents of the University (even though he won’t mention which ones specifically), which is why he’s so popular among so many people.

Brother Jim feels his service and his ministry is still very important and vital to the well being of Creighton.

His work as the campus locksmith keeps campus safe and secure.

“I just love the Jesuit Community. I love Creighton University and I know what I’m doing is important,” Heidrick said. “This is my great life to be a Jesuit.”