By Faith Gonia
The unsung heroes of break and lunch, the friendly faces that hand you your food, our dependable peers who make school-provided meals possible—there are many ways to describe the cafeteria’s student workers. Chiefly, they are utterly essential to Westmont High School.
Whether you venture to the vast cafeteria or you prefer the outdoor carts, enjoying the school meal services relies upon those who distribute food and maintain organization. Without them, 10:05 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. would entail complete disarray.
Junior Alejandra Salinas primarily works one of the two carts positioned in the hallways. She has been a student worker for two years at Westmont, plus one year at her former school, Campbell Middle School.
“It’s a great way to get work experience for when you want to start working outside of school,” Salinas explains, “You get a feel for a quick working environment and figure out what are your strengths.”
Each day, student workers leave their second or fifth period 15 to 20 minutes before the lunch bell. Overall, Salinas works for around 30 to 40 minutes per day.
To work for the cafeteria is no easy task. Why that is frequently traces back to inconsiderate students.
Writes Salinas: “In the beginning, when masks had to be worn to get food, they would give us so much attitude and get upset with us just trying to do a job and follow rules.” She adds that, on one occasion, students stole an entire pizza from one of the carts.
Clearly, Westmont’s dedicated workers deserve far more appreciation than they receive. I agree with Salinas’s take on the subject: “I guess something I would want students to know is, it’s not hard to be a decent human being; we’re just here to help staff and get y’all food quick enough to enjoy your lunchtime.”
Next time you see a peer working during break or lunch, tell them “Thank you!” They do not hear it enough.