It’s everywhere. You see “The Corp” posters covering campus, order a latte from your favorite Corp coffee shop, buy cereal at Vittles, pick up chips at Hoya Snaxa, and more. The Corp is deeply involved in Georgetown, even more than most know. Besides their storefronts on campus, they also run a catering service, the shuttle system, a printing service and an up and coming news branch. The Corp coffee shops on campus are Uncommon Grounds (UG), More Uncommon Grounds (MUG), Midnight Mug, Vital Vittles grocery store, and Hoya Snaxa for small, on-the-go items.
I sat down with the girl in charge of it all, CEO and President Lizzy MacGill, to talk about the major responsibility of leading a completely student run organization, her journey to the top and some crazy customer stories.
When did you start working with The Corp and where did you work?
I started working fall of my freshman year at Uncommon Grounds. I applied two weeks into freshman year and worked at every Corp location, and now I’m back at UG. At first, I had no ambition for any managerial position, I just loved making coffee. As I continued working at UG though, I became interested in purchasing the supplies. I applied for middle management and ultimately got the position as the person that orders the milk. During my sophomore year I tried for a couple positions and didn’t get them, until I took the jump and applied for Director of UG and now I’m CEO and President. But with any job, my advice is to go into it wanting to learn, not aiming for a position right away.
What’s the most difficult thing about being the President? The most rewarding?
The personnel side of the job is definitely the hardest, yet most rewarding at the same time. Helping people and talking to customers is rewarding, and the difficult part usually comes with Corp leaders having problems with employees or other issues. It’s difficult in these situations to take the leadership position or the peer position, and it’s a delicate balance. When you find that balance though, between your duties as a Corp leader and responsibilities as a peer, that’s the most rewarding part of this job- the leadership and friendships made.
What’s an average day/routine as the President?
Each day I go to one or two meetings, there’s some issue to resolve or an order to place or something of that nature every day. It involves a lot of talking to people, the heads of each respective Corp place. I’m in charge of creating the weekly agenda, which covers our goals for the week and week-to-week progress. I deal with a lot of the overarching events, such as the Corp Gala, which is one of our biggest fundraisers. I’m also working on our up and coming news service with Ellie Wilcox who is the director as well as the architects of the news project. I work a lot with Georgetown administrators on anything in the agenda that we need to discuss that week as well. I have personal initiatives as president to really focus on employee and customer feedback. Feedback is a great way for me to see some element of progress in the Corp.
Any “crazy customer” stories?
Oh man, I feel like I have so many. There was one man who would always come into UG and draw cartoons of the baristas working at the time. I was the director of UG at the time, and he would just stand there and draw intensely detailed portraits of the baristas, to the point where it made some of us kind of uncomfortable. I basically had to kindly ask him to order something or leave, and he was pretty mad. Working at UG, you see such an interesting mix of people and students. There was one student who was studying for his MCAT, and he ordered 4 or 5 Americanos a day, which is insane. Seeing the loyal customers constantly makes it fun, and you build a relationship with the customers.
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Do you have a favorite Corp storefront?
We call where you first start your “home service”, and since I started at UG it holds a special place in my heart. It’s so neat to see the different culture of each service.
Favorite Corp drink to order?
As a barista, making a cappuccino is one of the highest skill levels because you have to perfect the foam. I love making cappuccinos, but my favorite drink is probably an iced skim latte. And our biscottis are unreal, people never give them a chance!
Words of advice to students interested in joining Corp?
Take your time when filling out the application! The first round of application review is anonymous, and it’s easy to pick out the applicants that really spent time on their apps.
Lightning Round
-Dream concert: Phoenix
-Dream job: I want to be an attorney, but if money wasn’t an issue I would love to own a bakery
-Only allowed to eat one food for the rest of your life: My mom’s lasagna
-3 things you’d bring a deserted island:
-A tin Gone With the Wind lunchbox my parents gave me when I was 12
-My favorite book, West with the Night
-Sunscreen
-Favorite place: My backyard