When I first volunteered to interview Hopkins’ beloved Ms. Gladys, I didn’t know what the experience would be like– having to break between questions so that students coming to the FFC could talk to her, meeting one of her “adopted grandchildren”, or receiving a heartfelt hug– however, I am so lucky to have taken that opportunity to get to know one of the most important parts of Hopkins a little better.
The interview opened with a few basic questions: Gladys L. Burrell was born in Richmond, Virginia and raised right here in Baltimore. She began working for Hopkins in 1971, over forty years ago. It was the third question I asked, (“How has Hopkins changed throughout that time?”) that really brought out the kind of spirit that Gladys is so well known for.
“The students!” she said, immediately. She went on to mention that there are also more buildings on campus, but ultimately returned to the theme of the students, stating that she felt that today they were under much more stress than classes of the past.
“…The stress level is much higher now than it used to be… Years ago, whenever the kids was unsatisfied with the food service or whatever… they’d protest about everything. They did, they’d protest about everything, y’know. And now, it’s not that they don’t say anything, but they don’t have time [to protest] now, you know, ’cause everything is just rush, rush, you know what I mean? And, you gotta get to this class, and you’ve gotta study for this and … They just, like, accept whatever is going on.”
She went on to say that this was not reflective of all Hopkins students, but that the majority seemed to simply be too busy to get involved with such extra curricular activities nowadays.
After her insightful commentary regarding student life, Ms. Gladys talked to me about the two places she frequents most often: Elevation Chapel, a non-denominational church in Baltimore, and, of course, the FFC. Working register at the Fresh Food Café has definitely been a positive experience for her; she says that the students she gets to meet and greet daily are the best part of Hopkins, and are what keeps her at the school. Laughing, she also adds that “ I have a lot of grandchildren… White, black, pink, blue… All kinds! All nationalities!”
I was fortunate enough to meet one of those grandchildren, Lala Grauh, a fellow student here at Hopkins, who cheerfully told me that Ms. Gladys is, “…an amazing cook! She doesn’t brag about it, but it’s true,” and had many words more words of praise for the Gilman Cup recipient. When asked about that particular honor, Ms. Gladys almost teared up as she spoke about her emotions upon receiving the award, saying that she was overwhelmed, and felt overjoyed to the point of being speechless; Lala chimed in at this point in the interview to say that, “Gladys got a standing ovation when she got her award, because everybody loves her and she is a light in our lives! Right? It’s true!”
Humble as ever, Ms. Gladys simply smiled and said that she tried to be, laughing about the excitement of the moment, and how great it made her feel. This year was not the first time that she was honored with the Gilman Cup; she also received it in 2011. These two occasions are some of her favorite Hopkins memories, because she can look back on the moments and reflect.
Beyond receiving the Cup, Ms. Gladys has a lot to be proud of in her life. She’s been married for 48 years, has raised a family, and runs a catering business, along with other successes. She told me that not many people at Hopkins know about her catering, or that she loves to dance. When asked about the dancing, she exclaimed, “ I love to dance! …Hand dancing and regular dancing… We dance in church; I guess a lot of people don’t realize that we do dance in church and I just like to dance. I really, I do!”
It was hard to end the interview, because talking to Ms. Gladys ws so easy and joyful. Eventually, however, I asked her one last question, as suggested by Hopkins students. Her near instant response to, “What keeps you so happy?” was “God!”, echoing back to her multiple mentions of her church life throughout our conversation. She went on to say that her own reflection of this joy is just as important, stating:
“…A lot of times I feel as though, sometimes this is a kid’s first time away from home this long period of time, and I’m the first person, when they walk in that door, that they see. And if I got an ugly face and stuff, it kind of makes them feel like, ‘Hey, I’m going through it, she must be going through it too.’ I feel as though, you know, if I can have a nice friendly word for ‘em or be smiling and say good morning, sometimes it kind of perks their day up a little bit. I feel as though that, you know, I’m supposed to be inspiring them. They’re not supposed to be inspiring me! You know, I’m supposed to be inspiring them to have a good day. I want them to feel a little bit of happiness, a little bit of joy in me, so that they way it might carry over into the rest of their day, you know. …Evidently, I’m doing my job well!”
With that speech, our interview was complete, and as I went to leave she thanked me profusely for speaking with her. The reverse was definitely true; I was grateful to have gotten to talk with her. Just before I left, Ms. Gladys said it made her feel good that students felt as though they could speak with her. She told me that she was always straightforward with students, citing a time she “fussed out” a young man who had come into the FFC without wearing shoes, but that ultimately loved the students no matter what. Her last comments seemed to sum up her tenure here at Hopkins perfectly, as she said that at the end of the days she just wants students to know, “…that I care about them, I just want them to be happy while the time that they’re here, and that they can talk to me… and a lot of them do, and that’s all I really basically want.”