Every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I leave ten to fifteen minutes early from choir and head to work. On those days, I spend roughly an hour serving food and cleaning up after the high school lunch before going to my seventh period class.
During the first few weeks of my freshman year, Marilyn Nice, one of the former cafeteria workers, approached me at church and told me that they had an opening for a student job in the cafeteria. Since I wasn’t taking Spanish, a normal fifth period class for most freshmen, I was able to leave early from my study hall to go work.
My first few weeks of work were a little confusing to say the least. I had no idea how things were run, where the dishes went as soon as they were dried, or what to do after I had finished cleaning tables. I eventually got the hang of the job though, and ended up cleaning tables for most of the year while my working partner put away dishes.
For my first year, I only worked on Thursdays, while the other student workers, Rachel Shrock (‘14), Corey Hochstetler (‘14), and Olivia Copsey (‘15) worked on the other days. We always had someone to fill in for us if one of us was sick, and I picked up quite a few extra days throughout the year.
This year, Olivia and I still work in the cafeteria and we were joined by Zoe Hunley (16’) the first week of school. We each work three days a week, and switch off jobs every other time that we work together.
The people that I work with in the cafeteria are part of what makes my work experience so great. They are hilarious to talk with and seeing them always brightens my day. Even on days when I’m not working, they always ask me how I am, and that really means a lot when I’m not having the best day.
Carla Craw, who is in charge of the cafeteria, is absolutely wonderful. This is her first year being the head of the cafeteria, and she has really taken the challenge in stride. Things do not always go as planned when you are cooking for a large number of people, but Carla is always good at figuring out how to work around any bumps that may occur in the daily routine.
Melissa Zimmerman is one of the other women I work with. She has an amazing sense of humor. Listening to her joking around with Carla on Wednesdays when we serve food together is one of my favorite parts of the week.
Joyce Witmer normally helps with the line for the a la carte and she is the queen of providing food when it runs out. I’m pretty sure that she can make a PBJ in under twenty seconds. Joyce also has a smile on her face, and I love how much her presence brightens the cafeteria.
Rose Hochstetler is like my cafeteria mom. She’s never afraid to teasingly scold anyone, and she always takes time to thank me for my help whenever I leave at the end of lunch. Rose’s sense of humor always brings a smile to my face when she jokes around with everyone while we are cleaning up after the lunch room is empty.
Keenan Wenger, the sole male in the group of lunch ladies, joined the cafeteria crew a few months ago. I haven’t gotten the chance to know him too well yet, since he always washes dishes and I normally wash tables, but when I have worked with him, I’ve noticed that he is an incredibly kind person. He always makes sure to wish Zoe, Olivia, and I a good afternoon before we leave to head to class.
Over the last two years, I have immensely enjoyed my job working in the school cafeteria. It’s a blessing to get to go work with such kind, amazing people three times a week, and I always look forward to Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I cannot wait until next year, because I will get to work with these amazing people again.