Everyone’s nervous their first day on a new job — but not everyone breaks 100 plates, like physics senior Arnold Kim .
“I was slightly nervous and trying to get everyone home early and was setting up for close like always, but I accidentally ran some plates and broke over 100 plates within five seconds,” Kim said , recounting his first day working as a supervisor in the dining hall.
Kim was inspired to work in the dining hall after seeing a multitude of help wanted signs. Three years later, he’s now a student supervisor.
Kim said working in the dining hall can be enjoyable or stressful, depending on how many employees are there.
“It’s fun when everyone’s working,” he said . “Everyone’s pretty similar. ... No one wants to be there, but at the same time you make good friends and meet lots of people.”
Another thing Kim enjoys about his job is working in Wilson dining hall . He said the people in general are great there.
One thing Kim said he hates, though, is when people stroll into the dining hall just as it’s about to close.
“I used to do it all the time, so I understand,” he said.
Kim has had jobs prior to this one, including working as a professional gamer, but none were related to the food industry. He said it was a lot more work, but the people he met made up for that.
Despite his enjoyable experiences, Kim doesn’t plan on pursuing a career in the food industry.
“I’m kind of dead set on going to med school,” he said, adding he was already accepted. “I wanted to do medicine and the human brain has always interested me,” Kim said. “I want to be able to do brain research as well as do my own research to cure cancer.”
Kim plans on being a neurosurgeon and oncology specialist, which is a doctor who specializes in cancer.
Kim said he recommends other students try to get a job working in the dining hall because it’s fun and they could always use help. It might not seem like the world’s greatest job, but it might surprise you, like it did with Kim.
“I originally was only going to work until they got more help, and I thought I wouldn’t like it,” he said. “But I actually enjoyed it and so I decided to stick around and I’m glad I did.”
Kim continued, “I would say the biggest thing the cafeteria has done for me is that it’s taught me how to deal with all different types of people and taught me what being a student leader really means. To me, it means that the student body that you are in charge of depends on you a lot, and if I make a mistake or miss something it affects the whole group and not just me.”
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