Daniel Cody / The Hofstra Chronicle

Around 6 p.m., one witnesses a migration. As students flock from all corners of campus to the roosts of their dorms, the Netherlands Core is a place to grab a quick bite to eat before students make the final trek back to their bedrooms. Here the meal choices are plentiful: fresh foods, fried foods, candy, whatever the college student’s gluttonous heart desires. At the end of a transaction, a cashier rings students up and sends them off with a smile. 

Although this ritual is habitual and almost unanimously known across the student population, there is an essential element that many people seem to overlook: the Netherlands staff. These are the employees who clean, cook and restock the stations and cafeteria at the end of the day. They light up students’ evenings with simple remarks as they labor during their shifts. 

Soila Cruz, a mother who works in the Netherlands Core, loves the students, but wishes she could spend more time with her children.

“It’s difficult to spend time with the kids and working at the same time, [the kids] study. It’s one thing to have a working dad, it’s another to have a working mother, but I am a good mother,” she said. “I love the students, I talk a lot with them and a lot of things happen. I want the best for them … I love making the foods, that’s my favorite thing to do around here.”

She advises Hofstra students to “take a lot of care with things, [and] continue studying, it’s the best thing one can do in one’s life.”

Compass Group is the company that runs many of the dining locations around Hofstra, including the Core. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, the company makes upward of 5 billion meals a year and is considered a Fortune Global 500 entity. 

Andrea Nascimento, a Compass manager originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, loves the university environment: 

“I’m an older woman who likes to work, but I did go to college,” she said. “I regret that it was late, but I think if I ever get the opportunity to go back to school, even today, I would take it. It is the best thing to do. I am a hardworking mother and housewife. My favorite thing in school was journalism; it’s something I always wanted to do. When I was a kid, I would read the newspaper. I did act as well. We don’t pay attention to it, but for me school was the best thing. It was a way to learn about other cultures and to meet other people. If I was in a school today, I would go to any club to grab any opportunities presented to me, to improve my life. I love the environment at Hofstra.”

Although she loves the Hofstra environment, Nascimento has some recommendations for Hofstra students, reminding them to be more respectful. 

“Clean as you go, although sometimes students are between classes and that’s fine. But overall, just clean up your space,” Nascimento said.

Overall, the staff at the core is underappreciated. Small things like compliments and giving thanks goes a long way for people in the restaurant industry, and cleaning up is a courtesy that all Hofstra students should show their staff.