A Hard Day's Night with AVI and Security
Alexandra Zott
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Features
AVI
After a brutal day at work, AVI sous chef Jacob Owen, who works from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. or even until midnight, faces a 50-minute commute to his home in Pataskala, a town just outside of Columbus. His job is undoubtedly demanding: Owen manages working an average of 14 to 15 hours a day, six days a week.
"Work at night is mind-boggling," Owen said. "One moment your brain feels fried and the next you feel like you're on top of the world. Every moment is controlled chaos."
After the servery doors close, the AVI staff still has several hours of work cleaning and organizing the two-level kitchen and loading dock. Each station must be organized and checked for cleanliness and quality and temperature of food. The store rooms are re-stocked and once per week inventory is taken of everything in the refrigerators. The lower kitchen, where 90 percent of the preparatory work for catering parties, picnics and dinners takes place, must be cleaned and re-stocked for the next day. The staff must close the servery and all dining halls, prep the servery and Pub kitchens for the next day and manage the dish tank, tray carousel, coolers and freezers.
Despite the relentless tasks and chores that make Kenyon's dining hall run smoothly, Owen said he enjoys working nights. "In the p.m. I like the quiet, a lot of time to think and put my mind in place," he said.
After reviewing his constant flow of duties, it is hard to believe that a quiet moment can be had, even after the last stragglers have left Peirce. For Owen, those periods of reflection in a still, nighttime Peirce are what make the last hours bearable.
Campus Safety
Long after students have left the library and their books for tomorrow, Greg vonFreymann, second shift supervisor for Campus Safety, continues his job of keeping the Kenyon student body safe.
"A night position in security means that you are primarily who the students are relying on from 11:00 at night to 7:00 in the morning," vonFreymann said.
After a brutal day at work, AVI sous chef Jacob Owen, who works from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. or even until midnight, faces a 50-minute commute to his home in Pataskala, a town just outside of Columbus. His job is undoubtedly demanding: Owen manages working an average of 14 to 15 hours a day, six days a week.
"Work at night is mind-boggling," Owen said. "One moment your brain feels fried and the next you feel like you're on top of the world. Every moment is controlled chaos."
After the servery doors close, the AVI staff still has several hours of work cleaning and organizing the two-level kitchen and loading dock. Each station must be organized and checked for cleanliness and quality and temperature of food. The store rooms are re-stocked and once per week inventory is taken of everything in the refrigerators. The lower kitchen, where 90 percent of the preparatory work for catering parties, picnics and dinners takes place, must be cleaned and re-stocked for the next day. The staff must close the servery and all dining halls, prep the servery and Pub kitchens for the next day and manage the dish tank, tray carousel, coolers and freezers.
Despite the relentless tasks and chores that make Kenyon's dining hall run smoothly, Owen said he enjoys working nights. "In the p.m. I like the quiet, a lot of time to think and put my mind in place," he said.
After reviewing his constant flow of duties, it is hard to believe that a quiet moment can be had, even after the last stragglers have left Peirce. For Owen, those periods of reflection in a still, nighttime Peirce are what make the last hours bearable.
Campus Safety
Long after students have left the library and their books for tomorrow, Greg vonFreymann, second shift supervisor for Campus Safety, continues his job of keeping the Kenyon student body safe.
"A night position in security means that you are primarily who the students are relying on from 11:00 at night to 7:00 in the morning," vonFreymann said.
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Student '12
posted 11/10/09 @ 4:38 PM EST
This piece nicely describes how incredible some of the people here are. It's not only the students making it happen but the people "behind the scenes" too. (Continued…)
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