Working in the Dining Halls: Fall Term Edition
Bennet describes his positive experience working at the East Dining Hall for student employment.
Bennet describes his positive experience working at the East Dining Hall for student employment.
Hi people,
Congratulations to those who have been admitted to Carleton and good luck to the Regular Decision applicants as well. In my welcome to the Class of 2026, I’d like to highlight student employment. It’s never too early to start thinking of where you want to work! In this article, I will provide a short summary of my job as a Dining Hall Assistant during Fall Term 2021.
My Dining Hall Schedule
Carleton has five dining facilities: East Dining Hall, Burton Dining Hall, Sayles Café, Weitz Café, and Schulze Café. Some are known for their location and ambience, others for their fries and iced mochas (for coffee people). They are all excellent places to work. I work at the East Dining Hall located in the Language and Dining Center, which is beloved for its location and open spaces.
During the Fall term, I worked on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 pm to 8 pm, and on Fridays from 7 pm to 8 pm. The East Dining Hall has several food stations and I worked at all of them depending on where my student manager assigns me. Throughout the term, I preferred working at the most busy station, “American Regional,” because it has a variety of dishes I have never seen before as an international student. Also, I get to interact with many people because tons of students visit this station to grab food.
Benefits of working at the dining halls
I had a good time working at the East Dining Hall. Being an International student, I learned a lot about different American cuisines and (uniquely) Carleton cuisines. As a potential Computer Science major, I might have loved to work at the Information Technology Services (ITS). Yet, holding a work position in the Dining Halls brought advantages that I did not realize it would. I discovered a lot about myself.
Doing something completely unrelated to my potential career might have first seemed like a waste of time. However, it was a new experience and it made me very good at human relations. Just by serving food to the members of the Carleton community, I made acquaintances and had interesting one-minute conversations. I was able to distinguish between good and bad interactions which helped me to reframe how I approach daily conversations.
Advice when choosing a place to work
As much as it is good to work at a place that requires the use of your academic interests, it is also essential to try some new things out. Carleton helps students get out of their comfort zones, learn more about themselves, create new relationships, and develop new skills. Exposure to different perspectives and experiences will help you be confident in making hard decisions on your own.
Therefore, if you are enthusiastic about learning, try out something new if you decide to have a job at Carleton. Stay updated with the most recent job postings on the Student Employment page and reach out to your employers to know more about the job you want to apply for.
Ben is a freshman from Bamenda, Cameroon, who is eager to experience snow for the first time. Aside from an interest in Computer Science, he is excited to explore Cinema and Media Studies, Economics, Studio Art, Cognitive Science, and Mathematics. At Carleton, he wants to participate in a few clubs and other campus activities, while keeping an academic-social balance. In his free time, Ben enjoys watching anime and random TikTok videos, listening to music, and hanging out with friends. Meet the other bloggers!