Meet Berlin Thomas! You probably recognize her as the friendly face from Freshii. Her signature catch phrase, “Happy [insert day of the week here],” brightens everyone’s day. Berlin took the time to sit down with Her Campus AU and share a little about herself and her role in the AU community.
Her Campus American University: How many years have you worked here and been apart of the AU community?
Berlin Thomas: Ten years. I started March 25th, 2005 in Tenley. When I first started, I was a line attendant. After three or so months, I filed for a job as a cashier and I got it. I moved from Tenley in 2007.
HCAU: How did saying Happy Tuesday come about?
BT: Oh, I don’t know! One day I was just serving someone as a counter attendant and it just came out of my mouth. Happy. You know, I got the job working in semi-retirement because I wanted a part time job. And I was so happy to get the job, you know it was happy everyday. And I would say happy Monday, happy whatever day, and I would take a picture. When April came, I started taking pictures of the students. I would take the pictures and I would get them developed and they would give me a duplicate. I gave the student a picture and I would make a collage and they would sign it. I had folders and collages of lots of students.
HCAU: Do you tell people on weekends Happy Saturday?
BT: A couple years ago, I was going to the Giant up at Park row and some of the kids from here were doing some kind campaign work up there. And they saw me and I saw them and they said “Happy Saturday Berlin!” One of the bus drivers, he even says it. My coworkers who get on the bus with me in the morning and when they see me, they’ll say Happy Monday. They’ll do it first and it’s just amazing. It’s just amazing.
HCAU: What is you favorite part about working at AU?
BT: The kids. You know I can ask them where they are from. If they have on a nice outfit, I could tell them that. It’s just like general conversation. I could tell when they are doing testing or studying real hard and I can something that’ll make them laugh, especially my Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday thing.
HCAU: What is something that students in line can do to brighten your day since you always brighten ours?
BT: What they do, and I love it, is they’re so manerable. They’ll say “thank you, yes” and it’s shocking because last year, they weren’t too manerable, they weren’t too nice. And this Christmas, I told a very nice student, “Tell your mom I say thank you, tell her, thank you for raising you the right kind of way,” and they’ll smile. But I mean it, I really do mean it. Because some parents raise their kids to be polite to us because we’re here to service them. I said “Where you from, you got a Southern accent”. They says “yes, ma’am.” And, oh man, it’s so exciting.
HCAU: Describe yourself in one word.
BT: Amazing! I’m amazing! I mean for my age, I’m amazing. I was just telling one of the students how on Friday nights, I party like a rockstar. I really do, me and the other girls, we’re all senior citizens and we party in our tight jeans. And it’s amazing because the people are standing around looking at us and we’re jumping up and down and dancing and everything. We go to a club called the Chateau. It’s the oldest but best club. That’s what keeps me young.
HCAU: What do you want to tell AU students?
BT: Whatever job you have, always tell people [to have a] happy whatever day.
Photo courtesy of the author