| A day in the life of ... |
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| Written by Tim Crisp, Daily Vidette Reporter |
| Friday, 10 April 2009 00:00 |
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For most of ISU, Campus Dining Services is much like an iceberg. The majority of students simply swipe in, get their food and eat, walking away seeing only a small portion of what happens within each dining center. But beneath the surface lies the core of Campus Dining Services, the kitchen staff, laborers, administrators and managers, the people who make it all work. Assistant manager Ann Smoots is part of this core. Smoots has been working for Campus Dining for eight years, and with the exception of one semester at Southside, she has spent all of her tenure at Watterson Dining Center. She currently works as one of Watterson Dining Center's closing managers. As a manager, Smoots works with kitchen staff, laborers, student managers and student workers to make sure all is running well. During the days, there are several managers on staff at a time, but the night shift is usually held together by one manager and one lead chef. During the closing shift, responsibility falls on Smoots to make sure things are going smoothly both outside at Watterson's venues and dining area as well as behind the scenes in the kitchen. "I need to go out and make sure student workers aren't socializing and everything is being stocked and cleaned," Smoots said. "And I also need to keep in communication with the kitchen and make sure they're doing okay, too." Every 30 minutes, Smoots goes outside to check on the state of the dining center. She goes through a rigorous checklist of items that need to be investigated in order to make sure the dining center is running smoothly. "Everything from making sure venues are clean to stocking up on fruit and checking tables," Smoots said. "There's always something that needs to be done." Smoots closes on Wednesday through Saturday nights, but Friday seems to offer the most unique and difficult challenges. "Fridays are generally busy," Smoots said. "And it's hard because it's a day when a lot of people call off work, both laborers and students. "That's the hardest part of the job, being short-handed," Smoots said. "It's always frustrating because there's so much to think about and keep up with." For Smoots, Fridays begin at 2 p.m. and the first thing she does after arriving to work is check the call-in log to see if anyone has called off work for the night, which is inevitable on a Friday. "I spend time calling people who aren't scheduled to see if they'll come in," Smoots said. "Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't." On nights when no one can be brought in, Smoots can usually be found in the kitchen helping the cooks or on the outside maintaining the venues. But she's always willing to do what's necessary to ensure a smooth night. "I'll help wherever I can, it doesn't matter," Smoots said. "We always say, no matter what it takes, we'll do anything to make the customer happy and to keep things running." Despite some of the difficulties a Friday night can present, students and cooks are out the door by 9 p.m., but Smoots still has an hour left to make sure everything is set from Saturday's opening at 8 a.m. "After the student workers and cooks all leave, it's just me and the kitchen laborers," Smoots said. "I double check everything much like the walk I take every thirty minutes when we're open." "I have to make sure nothing has been missed before I leave, to be sure that opening goes well the next day." Through all the difficulties she may face on a Friday night, Smoots can always be seen with a smile on her face, enjoying every minute. "Ann is awesome and I can always find her by her laugh," Megan Belanger, a senior exercise science major and student manager at WDC said. "I have a good time when I'm working with her," she added. "I love working with students," Smoots said. "They keep me young and they make me happy." I learn a lot from the students, from talking to student workers and customers, that's my favorite part of the job." |
