Goucher Bon Appétit Employee Wins National Award

Tuesdays through Saturdays, Carolyn Offer wakes up in her southwest Baltimore home, takes two buses, then walks from the bus stop to Stimson Dining Hall. No matter what, the Bon Appetit employee arrives at 7 a.m.—two hours early for her shift. “I love my job, “she says. “And I’m an early bird.”

Carolyn’s diligence—and the fact that she’s taken one sick day in 15 years—are just a few of the reasons she recently was named the BE-A-STAR Employee of the Year, a national award bestowed annually by Bon Appétit, the college’s food services company.

“Carolyn is a superbly dedicated team member; if you go into Stimson today to the deli station you will always find her smiling and genuine,” says Norman Zwagil, Bon Appétit’s resident district manager. “She’s already gotten employee of the month here often. … She’s a hard act to follow. Ms. Carolyn sets the bar for all of us and who we aspire to be at Goucher.”

Initially hired as a temporary worker, Carolyn soon was given a full-time position and, over the years, has worked at all the dining stations in the college. Now a deli worker in Stimson, she has enjoyed switching her responsibilities to help with “whatever they need.” And she has come to appreciate lessons learned on the job, taking the cooking skills and ideas home to her family. “I just love to cook,” she says. “I love to cook here, and I love to cook at home, and nobody ever complains about my food ever.”

Getting to know the students also is a perk of the job. “Working here is very rewarding,” Carolyn says. “I love helping the students—our customers.” In 2009, during the back-to-back blizzards—when the buses weren’t running—her affection for the students pushed her to request that Zwagil pick her up so she could come to work and stay until the storms passed. “I just wanted to be here to help out any way I could,” she says. “He appreciates me doing that for the person I am.”

Zwagil, who nominated Carolyn for the award, says she was informed about the honor, which includes an all-expenses-paid trip to Florida, via a phone call from Bon Appetit’s chief operating officer. Though shocked, Carolyn wasn’t too taken aback to let him know she had never flown and wasn’t sure if she was quite ready. “We said, ‘If we have to drive you, we’ll get you there,’” Zwagil says.

Instead, Carolyn decided to take her first flight on Friday, October 23, to attend the reception in her honor in Orlando. “I’m afraid of heights, but I’ll say a prayer that everything will be all right,” she says. “They say you have to face your fear, so I’ll face it!” She plans to take her daughter on the adventure that will include a stay at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios and a visit to Disney World.

And after that, Carolyn says, you’ll be able to find her back at Stimson’s deli station.

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