Lipscomb canceled classes twice in the first several days of the semester. Students took the opportunity to go sledding on the soccer field and play in the snow. But essential Lipscomb employees were still expected to show up to work as usual. Bison Cafe remained open and maintenance services were still available thanks to the work of these dedicated staff.
Campus dining services are contracted through Sodexo, a food service company based in France. Sodexo’s General Manager of Dining Services Wolcott Fary said employee schedules do not stray from the norm when bad weather is predicted.
“Most of the folks that we have working for us here, upstairs and downstairs, really are dedicated and committed,” Fary said. “They are not just dedicated and committed to Sodexo because that’s their employer, they really feel more aligned with the university. Most of the folks that work here are here because they care about the university.”
Fary said that in most cases, employees only miss work if they cannot make it to campus due to road conditions. Even when school is canceled, employees are aware that there are still students to serve. It’s not an easy decision for them to say they can’t make it.
“I think everyone from someone like Lanie, who is one of our supervisors, to anybody who is working making the pizza or Marvin in the back doing the catering work, they’re all going to come here because they’re professionals,” Fary said. “They believe that their role here for us is important, not just for what we do as Sodexo, but how it affects the University.”
Several employees worked overtime and double shifts because of the snow days.
Fary shared about Burton Elementary housekeeping employees Marcus Haynes and Harold Doss as examples of the dedication of the staff. Both men approached Fary when the snow day was announced. Knowing there was no one to work the dish room in the evening, they volunteered to stay at Lipscomb for an extra shift.
“They didn’t have to do that, they could’ve gone over to the Burton school, which had been closed for three days,” Fary said. “But instead they thought about what was going to happen to us here. They gave up that job over there to stay over here and help.”
Fary said Haynes and Doss represent the mindset of most of the staff.
“We had some significant issues,” Fary said. “When it was at its worst, in terms of snow over the past week, we had probably a third of the employees that couldn’t come in.”
Most of the staff commutes 30 minutes or more to Lipscomb on a good day. The drive was not easy and took longer than usual on the snow days.
Katuria Harris worked in the dining hall on Jan. 12 and Jan. 16, the two days when classes were called off. Harris, who rides the bus, said she didn’t have any trouble getting to work.
“I considered calling off, but I needed the money,” Harris said. “It wasn’t that bad, you can’t just call off everyday because of the snow.”
Despite the shortage of staff, Harris didn’t work any overtime or extra shifts. The restaurants on the second floor were closed. All food service staff were allocated to the dining hall.
Housekeeping employee Dereje Alemu worked an extra shift on Tuesday night.
“I did work an extra shift. The morning shift was not as bad but the night shift was worse,” Alemu said. “It was difficult to commute to work. The traffic was bad and there was heavy snow.”
“A lot of students have expressed their gratitude, and it’s really sweet of them to be able to step out of their own world and identify that there are a lot of folks here that may not have had an easy time to get here,” Fary said. “But that is what we’re supposed to do and what we are hired to do.”