Stomping Grounds coffee shop. Photo by Misti Meads/The Dakota Student.

They are the faces you see on campus every day, but probably don’t know much about. Whether you start your day with breakfast, a cup of coffee or a workout, somebody is employed to help make a simple daily routine run smoothly.

As one of the largest employers in the region, UND employs students and non-students alike to get the campus up and running each day.

Terrace Dining Center

At Terrace Dining Center, the day begins at 5:30 a.m. to open for breakfast an hour and a half later. The morning shift requires a lot of production — doing food prep work and making sure equipment is in running order for the day.

Pam Schwanz has been with Terrace for 15 years, and Dave Bina has been assisting her for almost six.

“Terrace dining is unsurpassed when it comes to food,” Bina said.

Schwanz and Bina see about 1,200 students per day. The busiest time is for lunch, where over half of that number comes through.

Since the dining room only seats about 260, the lunch rush lasts through a few turns of a full house. These busy times require special attention in the fast-paced work environment.

“We try our best to meet their needs,” Bina said. “They are paying a lot of money for their meal plan, so service is the number one goal for that.”

That service extends beyond Terrace. The dining center is responsible for not only feeding students and staff who come through there, but for catering events and retail purposes.

Dining services is responsible for kiosks in the medical school and at the airport, snacks at Stomping Grounds and meals for the two non-brand options at Old Main Marketplace.

Terrace also makes deliveries twice a day, Monday through Friday, to three of the Greek houses on campus. According to Bina, all of these deliveries are made each day “rain or shine, blizzard or icy sidewalk.”

Due to the current construction project at Wilkerson, Terrace and Squires have been feeling the impact of the overflow.

“If we need product or they need product, we’re back and forth,” Schwanz said. “It’s a team effort.”

Beginning after spring break, Squires will be delivering as much food as they can across the street to Smith Hall, where a temporary dining option will be opening up. In hopes to give Squires some relief from the increased traffic, hot dining options and a salad bar will be available.

Wilkerson is set to reopen in the fall and will provide many new job opportunities. Schwanz also notes that Terrace is always looking for help.

Dinner at Terrace goes until 7 p.m., and it’s the evening shift that has the most demand for student employees to join the team. Schwanz says that Terrace depends on students for the evening meal to run smoothly. They are also responsible for end of day duties such as cleaning, restocking and closing down stations and equipment.

A successful day at Terrace requires both student employees and full time staff to work together, and Schwanz and Bina agree that is a reality for them.

“It’s definitely a tight-knit family,” Bina said. “You spend as much time with your fellow workers as you do your family, so you learn how to make things positive. Otherwise, it can be stressful.”

The interactions with those coming through the dining center each day contribute to that sense of family.

“It’s really rewarding getting to be around students every day,” Bina said. “There’s a really positive vibe as far as working with students, and just being around the kids who come in.”

Bina has gotten to know a lot of the students and staff who come through, many of them regulars and notes the comfort it can bring to have that familiarity.

“When you’re away from home, and you have that feeling of someone knowing your name, taking care of you; they really appreciate that,” Bina said.

Wellness Center

Kailey Zaffran and Paul Jensen are currently employed as Guest Experience Associates at the UND Wellness Center. Stationed at the front desk, they are the first point of interaction for those looking to work out or attend an event.

“It’s nice to meet other students on campus just by sitting at the desk,” Zaffran said, who has made connections through her job.

Beyond swiping members in, Zaffran and Jensen assist in equipment checkout, setting up memberships and registration for wellness classes, and assist with general maintenance, doing routine checks of the facility.

Zaffran and Jensen both became employed at the Wellness Center in the fall of 2014, and spoke positively about their experience so far.

“I’ve had jobs that have been more high-stress,” Jensen said. “This one is definitely nice as a student.”

In addition to a flexible system of scheduling, Zaffran and Jensen both said they value the convenience of being able to have time to work on homework during the slower hours of their shifts. The schedule at the Wellness Center also makes it possible for them to work as little or as much as they would like, with shifts 3 to 6 hours on average with opportunities to pick up extra shifts if desired.

Jensen says one of the biggest problems he’s had with other jobs has been working holidays. Since the Wellness Center belongs to the school, it generally follows UND’s schedule.

“When we have school off, most of the time we have work off,” Zaffran said. “The last thing I want to do over winter break is be stuck up here when I want to go home to the Cities.”

Stomping Grounds

For the past year and a half, Philadelphia native Steph Morris has been serving up coffee to the campus population at Stomping Grounds.

Morris smiles as she discusses her job and the many benefits it has to her as a student.

“I absolutely love this job,” Morris said. “I won’t quit until I have to.”

She said her position at Stomping Grounds is “super friendly, easy-going and student-helping.”

Morris especially enjoys her job on campus due to the ease of getting from work to classes and the flexibility the job offers. Additionally, getting a shift covered is never a challenge due to the helpfulness of her coworkers.

Morris notes that her manager at Stomping Grounds is “outstanding,” and that past jobs she has had on campus were also managed by positive people who were always willing to help.

Over the course of a four hour shift, Morris sees a lot of customer traffic, the peak times being in the morning before and after classes would start. Those she helps are a combination of students and UND staff members looking to get their daily burst of energy.

“People are happy because they’re getting coffee,” Morris said adding that her interactions with customers are generally positive, aside from those who may be in a hurry.

Though the interactions may be brief, a friendly encounter may be all it takes to make each day a positive one.

Serianna Henkel is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].