February 2021 - Associate Newsletter

FEBRUARY 2021 NEWSLETTER

HIGHLIGHTS • MESSAGES FROM LEADERSHIP • ASSOCIATE RECOGNITION

FANISH BEKELE

ALLISON DINING COMMONS

Fall Highlights

Wildcat Wellness

raised without antibiotics, free range turkeys

Wildcat Wellness kicked off September 4th, welcoming over 500 students back to

campus. 10,785 hot meals were delivered across campus during Wildcat Wellness.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

STUDENT FEEDBACK

PARENTAL FEEDBACK

10,785

SNACK BAGS DELIVERED

Turkey Giveaway

To all assocaites working fall quarter,

Thanks for all your dedication, hard

work, and excellent services. We had a

sucessful reopening and it was due to

all of you! We hope you enjoyed the

free range turkeys rasied without

antibotics.

Grocery Relief Program

At the end of Fall 2020, Northwestern

Dining provided bags of groceries to

associates furloughed during the

holidays.


Thanks for your commitment in

providing healthy and safe meals

during the Fall quarter. NU Dining

cares about U!

Winter Highlights

Wildcat Wellness


Wildcat Wellness kicked off January 3rd, welcoming over 2,400 students back to

campus. 66,000 hot meals were delivered across campus during Wildcat Wellness.

66,000

HOT MEALS DELIVERED

CLIENT FEEDBACK

Your commitment and care for our students make such a difference

in their lives. I can't thank you enough for the important work each of

you do.

-Julie Payne-Kirchmeier, Vice President for Student Affairs

I am so proud to work with such a dedicated group. You do so much

for our students.

- Jim Roberts, Sr. Executive Director

CLICK HERE TO VIEW RECAP

The amount of work it takes to pull off our program at NU is

monumental and much appreciated by me, the whole NU Team,

students, and their families. The team has done an amazing job

nourishing and caring for our students during this very difficult time.

-Stacey Brown, Northwestern Director of Residential Dining Services

Nearly 10,000 Meals Donated

In our efforts to serve our community and help

those in need, We reached out to the Chicago and

Evanston area to donate meals. Sixty non-profit

organizations quickly responded to the urgent

call. During the two-week Wildcat Wellness

period, twice a day, dozens of volunteers

collected the leftover meals of our student

residents to feed those in need.


Nearly 10,000 meals were donated by the time

the Wildcat Wellness period ended on Jan. 17

We would like to thank everyone who helped make Fall & Winter Wildcat Wellness success.

*Here is a group photo of just a few of the team members.

Messages From Leadership

Jennifer Byrdsong

Vice President of Operations

Welcome to the start of a new quarter. These last few months have provided us

the opportunity to continue to grow and expand healthful and delicious foods to

our students. I am proud to be a part of a team that strives to create “wow”

moments each and every day. January was filled with Wildcat Wellness, delivering

over nearly 5,000 meals a day to those students who returned to campus,

immunity boosting menu features, and our very own Purple Platinum Social Stars.

With each new day, we strive to continue to bring happiness to students and you,

our dedicated associates through food and we look forward to a healthful quarter

ahead.

Evanston Campus:

As we look to this new year, we remain engaged on campus delivering safety,

diversity and recognition to each of our dining locations on campus. I am looking

forward to a healthy and fun quarter ahead, doing what we do best!

Jonathan Miller

Sr. Director of Operations

Chicago Campus:

Kwasi McManus

Resident District Manager

Chicago Campus

During the month of February, I would like to recognize Black History Month. I

would also like to highlight the importance of mental health within the workplace.

We’ve all have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic one way or another.

While it may be routine to go through the motions to complete our daily task and

responsibilities, it’s important that we play our part in helping facilitating a

healthy work environment. During these times, it’s important not to assume that

your peers, students, customers or even leaders are just fine based off their

appearance. With that being said, let’s be good stewards of our work community

by contributing to a healthy workplace. Here are few items each of us could do

daily to help achieve this goal. Conduct frequent pulse checks, listen and be open

to ideas, show appreciation, spread happiness, show trust, avoid public criticism,

ensure clear communication, celebrate wins and laugh & have fun at work.

Human Resources:

Welcome back to work, everyone!

We are excited to return to the new “normal” of 2021 and to be able to work

together again and assist you in all of your HR needs.

A few items for you to review, please:

• 2020 W-2 Paper copies have been mailed to the home address in the payroll

system as of end of January. Please allow adequate time for delivery. W-2’s

will also be available online for free through the Compass Associate Portal

(CAP) at CompassAssociate.com. You may log in or register to retrieve your form

and even pay stubs.

Roshan Widhanage

Human Resources Manager

• Please review your tax deductions on your pay stubs and contact the HR office to make any changes to

ensure your tax deductions are correct for 2021, especially If you were on lay-off during the Fall 2020

quarter.

Additional Messages

Residential:

A HUGE thank you to everyone for a great opening to the winter quarter. Wildcat

Wellness showed us, once again, what we can do when we work as an effective

team. I am grateful to everyone for their patience and adaptability during this

unusual time for us all. Recently I pulled out a book from my past on how to

adapt to change “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson and the lessons

learned there are true today: Change Happens, Anticipate Change, Monitor

Change, Adapt to Change Quickly, Change, Enjoy the Change! And…. Be Ready to

Quickly Change Again and Again… It’s a great book with some great ideas.

Mitch Phelps

Sr. Director of Dining Services

Retail:

Juan “JD” Aguayo

Director of Retail Operations

This is not just a team; this is a family to me. Words will not be enough to tell you

how grateful I am to have a fantastic team. I love working with this team. Thank

you, everyone for a smooth opening this winter quarter. We were able to open

Lisa’s Cafe, Fran’s Cafe, MOD Pizza, Patty2, Viet Nom Nom, The Norris Market,

and Starbucks at this time. I appreciate everyone's patience as we look forward to

the day we can pen up our remaining locations. Please remember to wear your

facemask everywhere on campus.

Wellness:

We have an awesome team and I’m so thankful to work with all of you:

from our chefs and culinary and food service team to sustainability,

technology and marketing leads. You are here because you love the

students and want to keep them safe, well fed, with delicious, nourishing

food, and happy. I speak with students everyday. They tell me they like the

food (they are so happy to see salads!!) and they appreciate all you’ve

done for them. They are glad to be back on campus to see their friends

and to see all of you in their favorite dining commons. Keep up the great

work, providing Pure Eats meals to students with food allergies,

plant-forward dishes from Rooted and Kosher and Halal meals. This

attention to detail (with care in the recipes and signage) makes

Northwestern University a top school for academics and food. Keep

wearing your masks and staying safe and keeping your colleagues and the

students safe. Also make sure to check out our NU wellness and

sustainability blog:

https://northwesterndining.wixsite.com/blog

Lisa Carlson, MS, RDN, LDN

Campus Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Additional Messages

Sustainability : Information and Technology :

Sarah Levesque

Sustainability Director

With your help, we were able to donate over 10,000

meals to those in need around the Chicago region!

These meals went to dozens of organizations

including Love Fridge, GiveN Kind, Fight2Feed,

Evanston Latinos, D65, and many more!

Cris Cabacungan

Functional IT Analyst

I want to thank everyone for their patience

with the instability of the systems. There is

also a learning curve to working with a POS

at the dining halls. Inopportune software

updates have made Boost especially glitchy.

So thank you everyone for being patient.

ASSOCIATE COMMUNICATION WEBSITE

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

“We respect our employees’ right to organize and bargain collectively. The collective bargaining

process protects our associates, allowing their union representatives to negotiate contracts on

their behalf covering the terms of their employment, from wages and health benefits to vacation

time. With the devastation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever that

we work together to create a positive, healthy dining community for Northwestern and come

together at the bargaining table.”

Jeifer Byrdsg, Vice President of Dining Operations

Purple

Platinum Service ®

Fall - Associate Recognition




DANIEL YEBOAH

Meet our #SocialStar Daniel Yeboah of Sargent Dining Commons! Daniel is originally

from Ghana, West Africa Koforidua. He has been married for 9 years and has 3

daughters and 3 sons, 1 of whom works with him at Sargent. His high energy and

passionate spirit is known campus wide. We are blessed to have him as apart of our

team.

Daniel can always be found brewing coffee with a smile at Sargent Dining Commons,

pitching in at the cashier stand, helping in the dish room, and making students and

staff feel happy and safe!

HUBERT ZADANGA

Meet our #SocialStar Hubert Zadanga. He is from Bangui, Capital of the Central

African Republic and has worked for Northwestern Dining for 10 years. Hubert

believes that everyone should live life to the fullest, stay safe and eat good food! His

message to the Northwestern students, “Food is love and you can study and be happy

with a good meal”! A unique fact about Hubert is that he never cooked before joining

the Northwestern Dining Team. He appreciates his fellow team members that invested

in teaching him how to cook. Hubert’s greatest joy is his lovely wife and 4 children. His

hobby is to sing! He has been singing in church since he lived in Africa! Let’s take the

time to give a special thanks to Hubert for always preparing a good meal with a big

smile!

VERONICA DE ABONCE LOPEZ

Meet our #SocialStar Veronica de Abonce Lopez. She is the woman behind the line at

The Kitchen Station Sargent Dining Commons. Originally from Guanajuato, Mexico,

she has only lived in Chicago for 5 years and has been a part of Northwestern Dining

for all 5. Veronica loves her family, she has been married for 21 years and has a

20-year-old daughter.


Her goal is to provide students with a wonderful experience at our dining halls, as she

is always smiling and looking at the quality of food we serve. She can be found smiling

while prepping and cooking at Sargent Dining Hall. She fully supports her team and

will jump in to help anyone!

ADRIANA HERNANDEZ

Meet our #SocialStar Adriana Hernandez! She is originally from Ciudad Hidalgo,

Michoacán - México. Adriana was selected as a Social Star due to her passion for

people. She has transformed that passion during the pandemic into safety for those

around her. Adriana can always be found with a huge smile behind her mask! Her

favorite food is pasta and she loves to sing. She deeply misses the full student body

on campus and can’t wait for things to return to normal!


YAGYA KHATIWODA

Meet our #SocialStar Yagya Khatiwoda, a cook committed to providing safe and

nutritious meals at Sargent Dining Commons. Yagya is from Dehli, India. He moved to

Chicago in 2008 and begin working with Northwestern Dining. He has been married

22 years. He loves to cook and eat spicy foods!


Purple

Platinum Service ®

Fall - Associate Recognition

GABRIEL MARTINEZ

Meet our #SocialStar Gabriel Martinez! He is from Moroleon, Guanajuato and is

celebrating his 18th year working with NU dining.

Gabriel has worked in many locations on campus and is now the star on the grill at

Allison Dining Commons. He enjoys cooking from scratch, which comes natural to

him! Made to order dishes, such as pasta are Gabriel’s specialty!


When he’s not at work, you could find Gabriel enjoying new restaurants with his

kids, listening to music, watching soccer, or cheering on the Chicago White Sox!

KEBRON SIRAK

Meet our #SocialStar, Kebron Sirak! Kebron is originally from Ethiopia but he has

now lived here for 15 years! Known to have an exceptional palate, he loves his

work on campus cooking for our students! A fun fact about Kebron is he speaks 5

languages! He is quite the prankster and loves having fun in the kitchen with his

co-workers. If you see a cook with a plastic tail on the back of their uniform, he’s

probably the culprit. While having fun, his dedication to safety and providing

healthy meals for our students truly shines through!


Purple

Platinum Service®

GLORIA VALLE

Meet our #SocialStar Gloria Valle! Gloria is originally from Cuernavaca Morelos,

Mexico. She has been a NU Dining associate for 18 years! She loves and can make

a mean taco!

Gloria Valle


Gloria has a deep passion for cooking healthy meals. She also enjoys socializing

with students and spending time with family. During the pandemic, Gloria has

found joy in helping her fellow church members in any way that she can. Being

there for other people puts a smile on her face.

Special Feature

THANK YOU LETTERS

There is no greater reward than signs of appreciation. Guests from all around campus surprised our team

with sharing thank you letters. Our team is truly thankful for our Wildcats and are continuously

motivated to create a safe dining experience!

Purple

Platinum Service®

February - Associate Recognition

Purple

Platinum Service®

Purple

Platinum Service®

Purple

Platinum Service®

Aliyaha Frierson


Mario Palacios


ALIYAHA FRIERSON

Meet our #SocialStar Aliyaha Frierson. Aliyaha is from the Westside of Chicago

and is known as “The Lady on the Grill” at Lisa’s Café. Her passion for cooking is

deeply rooted in family. As a child, she enjoyed cooking with her mom and auntie

making their famous finger licking chicken. As a result, family continues to be her

biggest motivation for cooking amazing meals that make people feel joyful.

Outside of work, Aliyaha enjoys spending time with the love of her life and their

dog (Lady). She attended Capri Cosmetology College and in her spare time likes

making others feel beautiful inside and out.

MARIO PALACIOS

Meet our #SocialStar Mario Palacios. Mario is from Mexico and is known as the

back of the house king at Foster Walker Dining Commons. He has worked as a

dishwasher at NU for 18 years. Mario’s dedication and commitment to the process

of keeping our servicing dishes clean and sanitized is exceptional. Mario is

married and has 5 children. He aspires to become a prep cook before retiring from

NU Dining; until that time, he will continue to find happiness on the job by not

leaving any dirty dishes in the sink.

HOWARD WHITEHEAD

Meet our #SocialStar Howard Whitehead. Howard is a native of Chi-Town. For the

last year, he has worked as a cook at Elder Dining Commons. He is the ultimate

team player and loves working with the NU Dining Staff. He has a passion for food

and music. Howard feels that you can inspire with both and they make people

happy. When not creating music, he enjoys reading and studying philosophy.

Howard Whitehead


Purple

Platinum Service®

Katherine “Kori” Krischke


KATHERINE “KORI” KRISCHKE

Meet our #SocialStar Katherine “Kori” Krischke! Kori is a native of the Windy City.

Coming from a family of 10 children, she understands the role that desserts can

play to all generations. Kori is a pastry chef at Sargent Dining Commons and her

passion for creating sweet baked goods are loved by all who eat there. Although

her craft is creating delicious pastries, her favorite food is lasagna and she is the

ultimate movie buff. Kori loves action and horror movies. If you want to engage

Kori in conversation, just talk about the movie “The Untouchables” and you will

have her full attention. When not cooking pastries or watching movies, Kori enjoys

listening to 90s music and Skrillex.

Purple

Platinum Service®

Olga Jacovo


OLGA JACOVO

Meet our #SocialStar Olga Jacovo, Olga is from San Juanaco, Mexico and has

worked at Northwestern for 16 years. She is the smile behind the cash register at

Allison Dining Commons. Olga’s smile is known to warm your heart and brighten

your day. She enjoys getting to know the students and treats them as family.

Olga’s connection to NU has many layers, her daughter was once a student and is

now serving as a police officer at the university. When away from her NU Family,

Olga loves to cook and spend time with her dog Tien and parrot.

COVID-19

VACCINE

Learn about the

COVID-19 Vaccine

WHEN can I get the COVID - 19 Vaccine?

Is it SAFE ?

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VACCINE FACT SHEET

Información sobre la vacuna anti - COVID-19

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EVANSTON

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HAGA CLIC PARA

HOJA INFORMATIVA SOBRE VACUNAS

HAGA CLIC PARA

REGISTRARSE

EVANSTON

CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO

LEARN MORE : www.mayoclinic.org

OUR SAFETY MEASURES

COVID - 19

PROTECTING OUR PEOPLE

PROTECTING OUR GUESTS

Daily Wellness Checks (Temperature)

Contactless Checkout

Social Distancing

Gloves, Masks, and Handwashing

Associates wear a face mask at all times.

Gloves are worn at all times when handling food, and

Associates must wash their hands and change gloves every

30 minutes or less

Cleaning + Sanitization

Safety Messaging

stations for guests to use at the entrance and exit

dining and seating areas while maintaining social

HOW YOU CAN PROTECT

How You Play a Role

Handwashing

Face Covering

OZZI Reusable Container

Continue to practice proper handwashing

Wear your face covering in public settings where

other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain

Help us maintain a sustainable NU

utilize an OZZI reusable take out container when

dining in any of the all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities

Social Distancing

2M

6FT

Practice social distancing

Cultural Series: Black History Month

Black History Month is an observance that is held the entire month of February in the United

States. It celebrates events and important people in the history of those with African

descent. Whether in the United States, Brazil, Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica or anywhere in the

world, the many shades of African diaspora are recognized for contributions. they have made

to society. To celebrate Black History Month, NU Dining introduced a black chef each week by

sharing their stories, highlights, and contributions.

RECOGNIZING

INSPIRING CHEFS

FROM THE PAST AND PRESENT

CHEF

EDNA LEWIS

Edna Lewis was a renowned

African-American chef, teacher,

and author who helped refine the

American view of Southern

cooking. Edna inspired a

generation of young African

American chefs and ensured

traditional Southern foods and

preparations would live forever.

CHEF

JEROME GRANT

Jerome Grant is the Inaugural

Executive Chef at the Sweet

Home Café located in the National

Museum of African

American History and Culture. He

lead the museum to a James

Beard award nomination for “Best

New Restaurant” in 2017.

Grant accepted an executive sous

chef position at Urbana

Restaurant in Washington, D.C. In

2008, he joined Mitsitam Café

at the National Museum of the

American Indian as sous chef,

helping the team earn a 2012

RAMMY award for “Best Casual

Restaurant.”

In celebration of Black History Month

#BHMINSPIREDCHEFS

CHEF

BRYANT TERRY

Bryant Terry is a James Beard

Award-Winning chef, educator,

and author renowned for his

activism to create a healthy, just,

and sustainable food system.

Since 2015 he has been the

Chef-in-Residence at the

Museum of the African Diaspora

(MoAD) in San Francisco where he

creates public programming that

celebrates the intersection of

food, farming, health, activism,

art, culture, and the African

Diaspora.

CookBook Feature

The National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C. is the only national

museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. Sweet

Home Café is the dining experience at this Smithsonian museum with delicious recipes featured by

their Executive Chef Jerome Grant. Sweet Home Café showcases the rich culture and history of the

African American people with traditional, authentic offerings as well as present-day food traditions.

Chef Jerome uses the very best version of classic dishes and employs a high degree of from-scratch

cooking with locally sourced ingredients.

TEXT US YOUR FEEDBACK,

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

Evanston Associates:

806-414-3813

TEXT US YOUR FEEDBACK,

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

Chicago Associates:

919-629-0300

1point

1point

1point

1point

1point

1point

1point

1point

Purple

Platinum Rewards

Service®

great food great service great people

“We are in the business

of creating emotion”

“Your loyalty is our goal”

1point

Purple Platinum Service® Rewards

25 Points

1point

Skyway Epic 20-Inch

Carry-On Spinner

Black or Blue

iLive Bluetooth

Karaoke Machine

Honeywell Digital

Steel Security Safe

Waterpik

Whitening

Water Flosser

Braun BrewSense

12-Cup Drip

Coffee Maker

Livenza

Compact All Day

Grill

MyAir

Personal Air

Purifier

10 Sheet Crosscut

Paper Shredder





Echo Show 5

Rowenta Turbo

Silence Pedestal Fan

Waterford Elegance

Champagne Flute Set of 6

Google Smart

Home Hub

1point


50 Points

1point

Amazon Fire HD 10

32 GB Tablet with Alexa

Classic Double High

Queen AeroBed

Pilatesstick Basic Kit

Package





1point


75 Points

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Breville the Fast Slow

Pro Combo Pressure &

Slow Coooker

Nespresso Pixie

Espresso Machine

Cuisinart Vertical

Smoker Set

AirPods

CFM 56V

Cordless

Blower Kit

Sonos One

Voice

Controlled

Speaker

Nest Hello Smart

Wi-Fi Video Doorbell

iPod Touch

32 GB

Britax B-Safe 35

Infant Car Seat

Braun MultiServe

Coffee Machine

Sunset Bay

Hammock &

Stand

Amazon Fire HD 10

64 GB Tablet with

Alexa





iPod touch 128GB

(7th Generation)

AirPods Pro

1point


100 Points

1point

February 2021 - Associate Newsletter

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