When asked about the cafe, Landon Brant told me, “I do not eat in the cafe very often on the weekends, but when I do, I always enjoy talking to him.” He is of course referring to Kody, whose passion for good food and good conversation has made him well-liked by the SNU community.
My first question for Kody was how he heard about SNU in the first place. Kody said, “I grew up in Warr Acres, so I had always known about SNU. My buddy was a sous chef here around two years ago and hired me, and I have been here ever since.”
I then asked him what his favorite part about being employed here was. He told me that he loves the students and having interactions and conversations with us. He likes to find the little things that he can use to connect with students. For example, Kody and I love to talk about Oklahoma State because he graduated from there and I live right next to the university.
Next, I asked him what he liked to do in his spare time. He told me that he has been running a lot recently and training for the half marathon in the Oklahoma City Marathon. He is also an Xbox gamer, so when he is not doing anything, he will relax and hop on the game. He also enjoys audiobooks, which he picked up this past year. He watches a lot of sports, specifically wrestling, as that is what he grew up doing.
After that, I asked him how often he works, along with his role here at SNU. He said, “When I was hired I was a full-time grill cook, but due to some other things I had to turn this into more of a part-time job. Now I am here mostly on Thursday evenings for dinner, along with brunch and dinner on the weekends. I am still a grill cook, but wheneve
r we have short-staffed nights, I tend to help out whenever I can so we can get out as soon as possible.”
I then asked him what his favorite memory has been while here at SNU. He told me that before being at SNU he was a teacher, and whenever some guys would come back from SNU to tell him about it and catch up, that really made him happy.
I asked Kody what he would want students to know about the job that they might not know about. He says that sometimes the interactions we have with students are brief because we are just trying to get everyone through the line, but sometimes people do not give those interactions back. He said that he feels like a Kiosk machine at McDonald’s. He says “We are people too, and we enjoy some of that banter. Even just a simple ‘Hey!’ can make our day and make us feel important.”
Finally, I asked Kody about Oklahoma State, as that is something he and I always seem to talk about. He said he had wrestled for most of his life, and he actually was prompted to join the OSU wrestling team by his high school coach. Unfortunately, he did not see any mat time, which made him step away and continue through school as just a student. He graduated with two degrees: Secondary Education with a minor in Spanish, and a Math degree with a minor in Coaching Science.
If you are ever at SNU during the weekend, make sure you say hi to Kody, as he is one of the best employees to talk to about really anything. He always has a smile on his face, and he is always willing to help out and serve you.
Photos by Dezmond Williams