Tyler Stinson is the food services manager for Sodexo, the campus dining service at the University of Southern Maine. In his first summer working for the company, he was approached by Darcy Brockman, the business account manager/youth employment consultant for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation for the State of Maine. The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, also known as “VR,” is a Department of Labor program that helps people who have physical, mental, or emotional disabilities to get and keep a job. She informed him that the previous manager had started to work with their program with students from Gorham High School and help them learn what it was like in the food service industry. Stinson met with Brockman, then met the students, and the program began.

Stinson said, “I could tell that they were very excited about the opportunity to work with us and wanted to learn as much as they could. As someone who is very passionate about food service and our community this excited me greatly. The program ran through the summer, providing the students with their first experience with food service and they were able to earn a paycheck for their work.”

This summer the program has expanded to include four students. The students work three-hour shifts, three days a week, performing tasks that are typically front of house jobs, utility jobs, and kitchen jobs. These include stocking, cleaning, assisting in the Dish Room, prepping vegetables, and learning safety and introductory kitchen skills.

Stinson is excited to extol the success of the program: “In my opinion, I see the greatest benefit of this program being the real work experience. It was something I wished that I was able to do when I was learning about the workforce and what it was like to have a job. I think it is a real great opportunity for these students to come in and learn skills that they may not learn every day in a classroom. Selfishly, I benefit personally from the program by doing what I love to do and teaching those who share the same passion as me, and seeing their interest in the industry and the things I do every day grow and turn into enjoyment. I often have the students find me on their way out for the day and make sure they say goodbye or give me a fist bump and make sure they let me know they will be back the next day.”