Bigger than a pond but smaller than an ocean, Notre Dame senior John Lake is making waves both on campus and off! As your friendly neighborhood student manager of North Dining Hall, he’s responsible for making our culinary experience as pleasurable as possible. As a senior cadet in Notre Dame’s Army ROTC batallion, he’s responsible for keeping our nation safe. And, you can rest assured he does it without missing a beat. Meet John!
The Basics
Name: John Lake
Dorm: Currently off-campus, formerly of Stanford
Hometown: La Porte, IN
Year: 2016
Major: Computer Science
Campus Activities: Army ROTC, CoRec Broomball
Best Piece of Advice You’ve Ever Received: “Listen more than you speak”
Dining Hall Dude
Why did you decide to work at NDH?
I wanted to get a little more spending money for the school year and it was really close to Stanford. After working there for a bit, I decided to stay because it’s a really great community to be a part of. When you’re working through a tough job and there are others working through the same tough job, you can commiserate together. Plus there’s only a few of us on campus with this type of job.
What does a typical shift as student manager look like for you?
I go into North, sit down, usually eat something, and then alternate stocking trays and silverware and doing paperwork.
What do you enjoy about being a student manager?
I like being able to walk around and talk to people while working. Working at the dining hall allows me to see hundreds of people during my shift, and it gives me a chance to catch up with people I otherwise would not have been able to see.
What’s your favorite station in North? South?
My favorite is definitely the Asian station when they have General Tso’s chicken. It’s delicious and hearty!
Would you like to make your case for the North vs. South dining hall debate?
North is a better dining hall if you want to go somewhere that’s not too crowded and has a more homey atmosphere. I also think it’s better that the seating is all in one place; it’s more convenient to find people that way.
If you could add one station to North, what would it be?
I would improve the desserts. Particularly, I would want to add M&M cookies, because M&M cookies are dope. Or, I would want a make your own grilled cheeses station with different toppings like bacon and onions.
G.I. John
Why did you decide to join ROTC in college?
Well, from a young age, I admired the military. As I grew up, I thought about it in depth, and I decided that ROTC would be the perfect opportunity to have the best of both worlds: attend ND, my dream school, and be able to join the military after graduation.
How did you decide that Army was the branch for you?
My grandfather was a captain in the Army during the Korean War, so the stories he told me influenced my decision. Also, there’s a huge variety of jobs that you can receive after graduation, since it is the largest branch.
Have you done anything cool over the summer as a ROTC cadet?
I traveled to Romania as part of a cultural immersion program the summer after my sophomore year. I stayed with Romanian air force cadets which was pretty incredible. Our job was to teach English to Romanian cadets. We spent most of our time in Bucharest; I got to see Dracula’s castle, which was cool. There are other programs where you travel to train with foreign militaries or do humanitarian work as well.
After junior year, I had physical training at Fort Knox in Kentucky. Afterwards, I traveled to Fort Belvoir in Virginia, where I had an internship with the US Army Cyber command. I did some programming for them; it was a very laid back environment. I went to Washington DC many times and had the opportunity to talk with some very high-ranking officers in the Army.
What are your plans for next year?
I will be an active duty army officer, which means that my full-time job is to be a second lieutenant in the US Army. I find out my branch / job in the Army is in a week. If I have time off before I go to work, I want to do some traveling. I really want to visit Western Europe; I saw a lot of Eastern Europe while training in Romania.
Do you have any fears going forward?
I’m more anxious to do well than anything. I want to do a good job and be able to lead soldiers well.
Thanks for the interview, John!
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Images: provided by interviewee