By Emily Neelon |
Apart from their brown or white uniforms, Commons employees have many identifiers. They know how to precariously balance tomatoes, cucumbers and honey mustard dressing on top of students’ not-so-big salads. They can make a double-shot Americano with one hand while bagging 10 cookies and swiping a payment card with the other.
Yet despite knowing the classic characteristics of a Commons employee, many are oblivious to their hobbies outside of the sushi station. Here, the mystery behind the uniform is revealed.
Serving sushi, studying business
If a student is craving sushi for lunch, Matthew Mun has their back. Mun, a junior at UP, has been working at the sushi bar in the Commons since his freshman year. He loves working with food and finds solace in his job.
“It’s really hands-on,” Mun said. “You can get really creative with the different ingredients you put in every roll.”
Although Mun enjoys making sushi, he says it can be difficult at times.
“At the sushi bar we get super busy and slammed with people,” Mun said. “It’s pretty hectic most of the time because we have so many people we need to help out and we make everything ourselves.”
Freshman Jessee Bonty-Hinton said she looks forward to seeing Mun at the sushi bar everyday.
“He is always so funny and makes really good sushi,” Bonty-Hinton said. “There’s always a really long line of people waiting, but he manages to get (their sushi made) so fast and he’s so polite.”
When he’s not making sushi, Mun is working towards a business degree.
“I’ve always wanted to work for Nike, so that’s one of the reasons I came to Portland,” Mun said. “That’s also what (lead) me to choose business as my major.”
Mun currently works at the Nike factory store in Portland in addition to his job at the Commons and hopes to intern for the company in the near future.
When he gets a chance, Mun likes to hang out with friends, play basketball, explore Portland and collect Nike shoes. He also has musical talents.
“I play the ukulele and I like to sing,” Mun said .
Vikings and biking
Nicholas Densley, a student at Portland Community College, has been working as a cashier at the Commons for two years.
When he’s not serving students, Densley is working toward a PhD in archaeology with an emphasis in Celtic and Viking studies. Densley initially became interested in this field of study because of what it can reveal about the past.
“I think that as a culture, we accept a lot of mythology as the truth,” Densley said. “The only real ability we have (to separate the truth from the stories) is ignoring the written word and looking for material artifacts and goods that tell us where people were and what they were doing at that time. The more archaeological evidence we uncover, the clearer the picture we get.”
Once he accumulates enough credits at PCC, Densley dreams of attending University of Glasgow in Ireland.
Densley has little time to relax, but when he does have free time he builds and rides bicycles and recently made his own bow and arrow. However, Densley’s favorite activity is a simple one.
“(I like to) go for a walk in the rain on a Sunday when the city is quiet,” he said.
Freshman Ashley Hanna appreciates Densley’s charming demeanor when she is paying for her meals.
“He is very pleasant and that makes my experience better,” Hanna said.
Densley’s favorite part about his job is interacting with coworkers, content with the laidback environment they provide.
“Despite what could be seen as negativities, the team is quite positive,” Densley said. “The Commons can be an overwhelming place at times, the hustle and bustle.”
Nevertheless, the team stays upbeat and on-task.
“It’s happy group. Not a lot of drama unfolds. In other jobs I’ve had it’s just been one thing after another. Somebody hates somebody, (but) that doesn’t happen here.”
Although working at the Commons is relatively low key, it has become stressful at times.
“The power outage we had was the biggest shocker event since I’ve been here,” Denslely said. “The culmination of having to help manage hundreds of guest in that emergency was more than I've personally had to do (in other jobs).”
An affinity for people and places
Elizabeth Caverly, another cashier at the Commons, greets every student with a smile. She’s been working at the Commons since September and loves interacting with her fellow employees and the students that come in every day.
“The people that I work with are pretty funny and interesting and the students are really cool too,” Caverly said. “I like being able to talk with the students.”
Besides working at the Commons, Caverly goes to school at Portland State University and is studying psychology, human behavior and family studies. She hopes to become a school counselor after graduation.
“I really like learning about how people respond and react to certain things,” Caverly said. “I really enjoy helping people.”
When Calvery isn’t at work or school, she plays video games, hangs out with her friends and two cats, Blue and Cleo, and explores Portland.
“I found this place called Fire on the Mountain,” Caverly said. “I’m pretty much obsessed.”
Caverly loves experiencing Portland’s unique culture.
“I love to go to the Saturday Market and Last Thursday, a street fair that happens every last Thursday of the month,” Caverly said. “It’s a really cool place that shows the diversity of the people in Portland.”
Senior Kramer Kors, a friend of Caverly’s, said she is personable and patient.
“While working Liz always maintains her warm personality and smile, even when her line was very long and she was new to the job,” Kramer said.
