Joseph Adams - Senior
Student Program Coordinator (SPC)
Dining Services
How did you find your position? What was the process like from application to the offer stage? Please detail your experience.
I initially applied to Dining Services through JobX for a Student Worker position at Putnam Dining Hall during my freshman year. I climbed the ladder from employee (Putnam), to shift lead (Putnam), to Student Manager (North) over the course of three semesters. The Student Program Coordinator position oversees the student employee program within all locations of our department. Student managers directly report to the SPC, so when the former SPC announced he was graduating and made the posting I applied. The application involved a cover letter in which I expressed the passion that I hold for the work our department does. There were two rounds of interviews, the first a typical question interview, the second was making and presenting a presentation on our department’s hiring process.
What made you apply for your position?
The reason I applied for the position of Student Program Coordinator was because the Department of Dining Services has been an enormous part of my college experience during my time at UCONN. It has been a constant motivator for me throughout my time as a student. The connections I have forged within Dining Services have been extremely impactful on me. When I became the Student Manager of North Dining Hall its student program was non-existent due to Covid-19. Over the course of three semesters, I was able to revive and rebuild the student program there. I created a positive work environment, a comprehensive training program, and fully staffed the unit within my time there. I put so much time and effort into improving one student program at one location, I wanted to take it to the next level and improve our whole department. I have put so much into this department, and in turn it put so much into me teaching me so many lessons about being a manager. It was the next step naturally. To keep it simple, I love my job!
How have you been able to balance your schoolwork and work responsibilities? Please provide details of any challenges or hurdles you have encountered.
When I started as Student Program Coordinator, I was already well seasoned will being able to balance my workload. It was a big learning curve for me to figure out how to balance my responsibilities when I first started as a Student Worker and Student Supervisor for the department. Due to Covid-19, undiagnosed ADHD, and not being in a major I enjoyed at the time (I was originally engineering), I ended up on academic probation during my sophomore year, first semester. This was an all-time low for me, but the one thing that kept me going was my job. Academic probation was a wakeup call for me, and with the help of my UCONN Connects mentor, I was able to figure out I wanted to switch my major to History. It was at that time a posting went up for the North Dining Hall Student Manager position. This promotion would provide me with a new challenge to tackle alongside my new major, and it gave me motivation to keep moving forward. It gave me hope Entering my second semester Sophomore year, I started to get back on track. It was through this semester, and my Junior year as Student Manager I learned the importance of time management, and prioritization. I make a list at the end of every day of what I need to accomplish the next day. I put down the more important time sensitive items first, and the one’s that can wait lower down. Anything that doesn’t get completed that day is then brought to the next day’s list and re-prioritized. In addition to all this I made sure that I set boundaries with work, as my job then as Student Manager, and now as Student Program Coordinator requires 20-25 hours a week and there are a lot of people that rely on me. When I make myself flexible and available as possible, when it is my time, I respect that boundary.
What are your personal keys to success and what aspects of your job do you find the most fulfilling or enjoyable?
As cliché as it sounds, communication is key. Communicating effectively with others makes work so much more efficient. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, everyone does it. The important part is that you learn from those mistakes to avoid repeating them. Finally getting out into nature. Whether it be Horsebarn Hill, the UCONN Forest, a beach, or the Great Lawn, just getting outside is super therapeutic. The most fulfilling part of the job is watching the work I put in pay off. Everything that I do is in an effort to improve our Student Program, whether it be helping out my Student Managers or making department wide changes. Seeing the positive impact that I have had on the department is awesome. I would say the most enjoyable part of my job is the people I work with. We are one big team here in the Department of Dining services, it doesn’t matter if you’re a student, a chef, or an area manager, we are all trying to get the same job done together. It is so amazing not only to make connections with so many people, but to be able to watch others do it as well. I want to specifically shout out Ethan Haggerty, Chris Delmastro, and all of the Student Managers, because they all are so great, and I would not be able to do my job without them.
Describe your typical day at work?
Every day brings a new challenge, and I mean that in the best possible way. The position of SPC is a mixture of directing the Student Program, managing the Student Managers, and working on departmental projects. As Student Program Coordinator I oversee the entire Student Program for the Department of Dining Services which consists of ~900 student employees spread across 8 dining halls, 9 retail locations, and our catering branch. Each of the units has a Student Manager, who handles the Student Program within their unit. The Student Managers are in charge of hiring, staffing, auditing payroll, progressive discipline, training, maintaining files, giving evaluations, and keeping up to date with sanitation and safety practices for their unit. They are supported by their Assistant Student Managers on all the aforementioned tasks, and their supervisors/shift leads for running shifts. The Student Managers directly report to the area manager within their unit and to the SPC (me). If a Student Manager position is vacant, and they do not have Assistant Student Manager’s I step in to fill the spot until we can find a replacement. I have conducted many interviews for both regular student worker positions as well as Student Manager positions. I lead bi-weekly meetings to foster communication, address concerns, and share important information with all 16 Student Managers. I am in charge of reviewing all cases of progressive discipline to ensure that student management is following the proper steps to enforce departmental rules in a professional and productive way. I am in charge of ensuring payroll goes through smoothly for the Student Program and troubleshooting any issues we encounter. Some days I am in the main office working on projects and other days I go in person to the units to check in and assist both the Student Managers and Area Managers. Over the Summer of 2023 I assisted with transitioning the department’s payroll platform from Empower to UKG. This past semester I updated and revised many of our work processes to increase productivity. I have incorporated policy changes within our rules and regulations to make a more inclusive workplace and address common issues we have encountered. I complete RC-108 forms to dispose of old employee files and write evaluations for the Student Managers. I perform audits to make sure units are staying up to date with all of the things I listed in the Student Manager description. Anything else that the department needs from me I make myself as available as possible to help with, whether it be marketing, inter-departmental meetings, or summer orientations. Finally, my main priority is my Student Manager’s, the Student Program does not function without them, so if they need me, I’m there as soon as possible.
What skills have you acquired or developed in your on-campus job that can contribute to your career readiness or professional development?
Time Management, communication, prioritization, problem solving skills, payroll software skills, auditing payroll, OSHA Safety certifications, my ServSafe Management Certification, conflict resolution, public speaking, employee hiring, scheduling, inventory management, flexibility, the list goes on and on!
