When asked about the consistently creative array of pizza in the cafe, Dakota Sheffield told me, “This is some of the best pizza I have ever had!” Tanner Dawes also added, “I always look forward to grabbing a couple of slices when I go to the cafe.” This past week, I had the opportunity to interview an amazing individual who serves our cafe. Today we will meet Sterling, who is a quieter man, but a very passionate one who is always serving some great pizza.
I started our interview by asking him how he heard about SNU. Sterling simply stated, “Online job search. I had always worked in the area of the college but I didn’t really know anything about it. I found out about it, along with how the community started. I wanted a better job than what I was doing before, so I applied and here I am.”
I then asked him what his favorite part about being employed at SNU was. Sterling said that serving the students was his favorite, and by really getting to know him through this interview, this came as no surprise. Sterling loves the people around him, and he especially enjoys the conversations he gets to have with them.
Outside of his job at SNU, Sterling is actually a musician, more specifically a percussionist. He performs a little bit with a group of friends every once in a while. He also likes to cook at home and most of the time this includes pizzas. Sterling also has a passion for raising cats. He has six cats, and most of them are from a rescue shelter.
When asked about his schedule and role at SNU, Sterling explained, “I work Monday through Friday, from lunch to dinner, with a break in between. My responsibilities are mostly making pizzas in the classic section, but I have other dishes that I might serve as well, like whenever we have a baked potato bar or pancakes. My responsibility is to make a product with what is provided to me, and try to make it the best I can while being clean in the process.”
After that, I asked him what one of his favorite memories has been here at SNU. He told me that whenever his old boss, Patrick, found a new opportunity, they had a party for him, and he really enjoyed it, along with having Patrick as a boss. He also loved serving some of the elementary and junior high kids while they were visiting SNU.
My final question for Sterling was what was something that he would want students to know about the job that they might not. He told me that it is fast-paced and quite hard sometimes, as he has to make sure he is meeting the deadline for each thing that he does, along with making sure there is always pizza to eat for the students.
Overall, Sterling is an amazing man who you should definitely get to know, as he is wonderful to talk to and has some great stories to share.
Photos by Dezmond Williams