CWU Dining Services Student Leadership Program provides experience, mentorship

Central Washington University Dining Services is the largest employer of students on campus, with over 300 student employees spread out across a variety of cafes, eateries, and markets.

In 2020, the department introduced the Student Leadership Program, designed to give those student employees meaningful advancement opportunities and agency to effect change within the department. This was followed in 2022 by the introduction of the Student Manager position.

As Dining Services prepares to send its first big cohort of student managers through commencement, its leadership team has had a chance to reflect on five years of growth and success for its student employees.

Director of Dining Services Dean Masuccio has seen the cohort navigate through times of uncertainty and change, and emerge stronger for it.

“It’s very clear that there’s strong perseverance on display within this group, both in their studies and in their work with us,” he said. “Seeing them get ready to make that next leap has been inspiring, and we’re going to miss them.”

The Student Leadership Program serves the dual purposes of advancing student voices within Dining, and preparing those students for leadership positions after graduation. Assistant Director of Administrative Operations and North Campus Dining Monique Gonzalez sees this approach as being essential to the department’s role on campus.

“As part of CWU, we’re a nonprofit, so whatever money we make beyond our expenses is invested back into our facilities — and, more importantly, our team of students,” she said. “We invest in our employees, because it helps them perform better in their roles, and because it sets them up for success later in life, too.”

Student managers are invited to participate in informal monthly meetings with Dining leadership to share what is and isn’t working, and collaborate on improving the program for everyone involved. Student Manager Marlin Absetz, a senior theater major, witnessed an overhaul of Dining Services’ onboarding procedures as a direct result of these meetings.

“Having had a hand in redesigning our onboarding process along with the rest of our student leadership team has given me confidence in where the program is headed,” they said. “I’ve felt really listened to during the process.”

Absetz plans on going into stagecraft using their theater degree, a discipline which they say their role in Dining Services has helped set them up for success in.

“One of the things we do as student managers is that we train new hires, which has applied directly to my work in the scene shop, too,” Absetz said. “I’m teaching newer students the ropes to establish continuity as an outgoing senior in both roles.”

Working in leadership gives students the chance to develop skills they might not otherwise encounter in the classroom. Student Manager Hannah Schneider, a senior Business Marketing major, applied for a job with Dining Services as soon as she was accepted to CWU, and she has felt her skillset grow right alongside her role within the department.

“In the classroom, I’ve gotten more comfortable talking to my professors as a result of getting more comfortable talking to my managers and supervisors at work,” she said. “We also use a lot of the same software, like Excel and Word, which has directly transferred to the classroom, and vice versa.”

Schneider has enjoyed her work in Dining Services so much that she hopes to apply for a permanent position on the team after graduation. Whether or not she ends up going down that path, she knows that her time in the Student Leadership Program will benefit her no matter what comes next.

“While I hope to continue my work in Dining, anywhere I go, I’ll be able to use what I’ve learned here,” she said. “I’m prepared, thanks to the work I’ve done here.”

Campus Executive Chef Joe Ritchie is proud of the work that has gone into developing the Student Leadership Program, and he feels a bit melancholy about seeing that first cohort of leaders move on to their next opportunities. He knows that the stage they have set will help guide countless future students toward those same critical growth opportunities.

“We don’t consider ourselves a program that just serves food,” Ritchie said. “If we have 300 student employees, then we have 300 opportunities to add to the education they’re here to receive through these kinds of opportunities. Seeing this first core group of students who’ve been with us through so much get ready to go into the next part of their careers has been pretty special.”

Photo of graduating Student Managers courtesy of CWU Dining Services. Pictured left to right: Hannah Schneider, Sophie Truppner, Jessy Thadapongprasit, James Genero, Zach Brier, Andrew Gomes, Parrish Wunderlich, and Marlin Absetz. Not pictured are: Neo Klosterman and Briana Lomeli-Smith.