Wheaton College’s employee of the month is Rosie Campos! She can be seen working at Chase Dining Hall. Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, the forty-eight year old grew up in Indiana before moving to Massachusetts. She started work at Wheaton in 1986 and worked for two years. Then, she came back part time in 2007. When asked how she originally got the job at Wheaton, she replied, “I passed by the school and thought it would be nice to work there. I stopped by one day and looked for the office. Filled out an application. They called me back and asked if I could work the next day.”
After working at Wheaton in the 1980’s, she worked at Texas Instruments as a caterer before being transferred to California for a year and finally returning to Massachusetts, where she currently works both at Sensata Technologies and Wheaton. “I came back part time,” Rosie told me with a smile, “I love this place. The people are great. The kids are great. I care so much about them.”
Rosie gets up at 5am to work her other job before coming to Wheaton and working until midnight. Amazingly, she is very positive about working two jobs. “The most difficult thing,” she said “is the first few weeks of the school year. I only work one job in the summer. When schools are open, I come back. I get used to summer.”
In her job here at Wheaton, Rosie does a little of everything. “Last year, I helped the head chef. I work grill. I do sauté. I love that. I talk to the kids waiting while I’m cooking. On Saturdays, I prep the salad bar.”
Rosie lives nearby with her husband and three children. Her youngest, Ben, who is 19, also works at Chase. When asked what it’s like working with her son, a big smile lit up her face. “Oh, so much fun!” she replied, “He’s one of the positive people to work with. I miss him at nights. He works days now.” Wheaton itself provides an enjoyable, positive atmosphere for Rosie. “I love the people,” she says, “and I have a good connection with the kids. If I’m tired, the kids give me energy. It’s like a magnet. If you’re happy, the other person is happy too.”
This positive, friendly and hard-working woman shared her secret to a successful life, “I try to be positive. Being negative takes you nowhere.” Indeed, she has a great outlook on life, but her dynamic personality doesn’t stop there. Rosie is also very caring and considerate. “When I do the sauté line,” she told me, “I always make sure I keep a clean pan for [those with allergies]. I feel bad for them. I can eat anything. It must be hard to have to keep track of your food all the time.”
Rosie’s caring personality is reciprocated with the students. They often share their lives and campus activities with her. With a smile, Rosie reminisces about one event in particular, the senior ritual of swimming across the pond in the spring. “The kids jump in the pond at the end of the year. They come out all muddy: elbows, back, knees. I wonder what are they doing? They tell me they do it every year. They have to.” She also fondly recalls a couple international students she’s been able to connect with. “I had a friend from Spain. Another one from France. [The French girl] gave me recipes.”
“We have opportunity to know all these different cultures,” Rosie remarked, “the food they eat, music they listen to, clothes they wear–If I stay here more years, I will learn more.” When asked if she would work and live here for the rest of her life if she could, Rosie readily agreed “Absolutely.”
Special thanks to Jorge Clemente de Leon for assiting with this article!