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! 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

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 


February - Associate Recognition 

Purple 


Purple 


Purple 


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 


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 


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 ? 

CLICK TO VIEW 

VACCINE FACT SHEET 

Información sobre la vacuna anti - COVID-19 

¿CUÁNDO recibiré la vacuna anti 

¿Es SEGURA ? 

CLICK TO 

SIGN UP 

EVANSTON 

- COVID 19? 

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

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Service® 

great food great service great people 

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“Your loyalty is our goal” 

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February 2021 - Associate Newsletter

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