Farrenkopf, de los Santos and Azzopardi all agreed that involvement and leadership on campus helped them realize that Sodexo would be a good fit.
“We are looking for qualified and diverse candidates,” said Azzopardi. “Fordham has a strong talent pool and gives its students a leg up.”
Farrenkopf has been involved with Sodexo for almost seven years. During her time at Fordham, she was an active member of the Student Culinary Council and served as the council’s first president. She is now the catering supervisor for Sodexo at Rose Hill. She took some time away from the Bronx campus to work in Sodexo’s business and industry sector in California.
De los Santos is the unit marketing coordinator at Rose Hill and has served in that capacity for almost a full year. As a student, he was the president of the Commuter Student Association, a New Student Orientation coordinator and was a part of the CAB comedy committee. The skills he demonstrated both as a leader and an event coordinator contributed greatly to his position with Sodexo.
In conversation one word came up repeatedly: community. “Interacting with students and staff, planning events and the longevity of my involvement has helped me to blend both the Fordham and Sodexo communities. Bridging the gap helps everyone to communicate, like one big family,” said Farrenkopf when asked what she has found rewarding about both working for Sodexo and in close proximity to Fordham.
De los Santos brought up the opportunity to “be a student leader and then later still be able to help the University and help the people who helped my development as a person.”
Farrenkopf and de los Santos agreed that their ability to communicate with students as peers has been a great asset, as students are more willing to give them feedback.
“It’s a lot of fun to be a part of Fordham, a part of the community, a part of the Fordham family,” Azzopardi said.
As an outside contractor he said it is sometimes difficult to feel in touch with the also environment you have been brought in to help, but at Fordham he does not feel that way at all.
Inevitably, the million dollar question had to be asked: What do you think of the on campus dining experience now in comparison to when you were a student? Both alumni agreed that their biggest problem with the food had not been the quality, but the lack of variety. De los Santos has always been a fan of “café food” and said, “the increased variety has come from the student feedback we have received. It’s all about going with the trends and getting students involved with what they want on campus.”
That problem has been addressed, with dramatic changes coming to campus from last year to this year. New dining options, such as Zebi in Faculty Memorial Hall, Cosi in Campbell Hall, Auntie Anne’s in Queen’s Court and Panda Express in the McGinley Center have impressed students thus far. Improvements have also been made to dining staples such as the Grille, the Marketplace and Subconnection. These improvements have ranged from new items on the menu, to improved food presentation, to the remodeling of Dagger Johns in the basement of the McGinley Center.
Both de los Santos and Farrenkopf are happy with the changes that have been made on campus and are excited for the improvements that are still on the way. They hope that current students will also be excited and will be vocal with the changes they want to see on campus. De los Santos made sure to add in that his favorite, the buffalo chicken wrap from the Grille, is one thing that will not change.
