Michelle Plant

Ms. Michelle Plant works in the cafeteria here at Parker, and has for three years. You can usually find her at the register, working hard while interacting kindly with students and coworkers. She has her own way of doing her job, and catches all the tricks you may try to pull. Ms. Plant enjoys her job greatly, and loves working with children. When we first arrived in the cafeteria, she was at the register, ready to work, and graciously took a moment of her time for our interview. She likes to think of herself as magical and free--when asked what her spirit animal was, she said it was a unicorn. Ms. Plant is a mother, and a bowler in five different leagues, five days a week. We really enjoyed getting to interview her and learn all about her.

While she's at work, Ms. Plant starts the day setting up for lunch and cleaning up breakfast. She says weather can greatly impact her job, mostly her commute. When we had our first big snow storm, it took her three hours to get to Parker. But when asked, Ms. Plant said that she doesn’t think of her morning as early, because that’s just her normal schedule. Normally, she arrives at six am. She says breakfast, from 7:30 to 8:30, is the busiest time of her day. After that, she counts the money from breakfast. Then, Ms. Plant likes to refill the coffee machines and put out salt and pepper at the tables. She is also in charge of restocking six cases of water and chips two to three times a day. The lunch rush then comes, from 12:00 to 1:00.

“My dream job is to work with kids. I’m actually in classes right now for early childhood education.”

Ms. Plant knows everybody’s codes. Tell her the first number, and she can finish it off for you. She also thinks that the cafeteria needs to be able to let parents use credit cards. The parents don't know that the cafeteria is cash only, and often don't know their kids’ code(s). If you’ve ever attempted to slip anything by her, like a cookie hidden under your plate, you haven’t gotten away with it; Ms. Plant knows all the tricks. Sometimes she’ll tell you she knows, like by saying, “I see that,” or she will charge the item to your account without you knowing. (So if we were you, we wouldn’t try it.) She also says that her math skills have gotten better because of all the adding up of money. She used to have to count more cash than she does now, but now there’s only one cash register. The other registers only accept account numbers. Ms. Plant said that her job isn’t difficult. Thanks to the help of many people, her job is made easier.

There are many things Ms. Plant enjoys about her job. She says that the best part of her job is being able to talk with all of the students, teachers and staff here at Parker. She has special connections with the Parker staff. She loves working with the people here, the kids especially. She loves to work with kids, and hopes to continue doing so in any future jobs. Ms. Plant’s favorite Parker tradition is Halloween. She likes the Halloween parade and loves seeing all the kids dress up. A pet peeve of hers about the cafeteria is when people spill coffee. She doesn’t like cleaning it up, and who would? She likes when others clean up their own spills. Ms. Plant eats her lunch between 10:45 ~ 11:15. Her favorite cafeteria meal is the Italian beef sandwich, which doesn’t often appear on the menu. Ms. Plant says that the weirdest food combination she has ever seen a student get is grilled cheese and mayo.

Ms. Plant lives on the southeast side of Chicago. Before she worked at Parker, she worked at Macy’s on State Street. She loves purses, and liked the employee discounts there, but she enjoys her current job at Parker much more. Ms. Plant came to Parker because she wanted to get to spend more time with her two-year-old daughter, Khylee. They both enjoy music, and her daughter is especially in love with Shrek: the Musical. Ms. Plant loves spending time with Khylee and taking her places like the Shedd Aquarium.

Though she works at the cafeteria, Ms. Plant doesn’t necessarily love cooking. The thing she most likes to cook is sweet potatoes, a dish that both she and Khylee can enjoy. When not spending time with her daughter, Ms. Plant is a competitive bowler. She bowls in five different leagues, five days a week all over Chicago and parts of Indiana like Hammond and Calumet City. Ms. Plant says that she uses the three-handle holes in the ball. She’s not afraid of her fingers getting caught in the ball (unlike some of us). Ms. Plant also wants to be a teacher and is studying early childhood education. When asked, she shared that her dream vacation is going to Costa Rica, where it’s warm and sunny with practically no winter. Asked about her desert island choice for a book, Ms. Plant replied, "any book by Toni Morrison."

“The weirdest food combination I've ever seen here is grilled cheese with mayo."

There are also many interesting things about Ms. Plant’s job that are easy to overlook. She has noticed that the most popular food in the cafeteria is pizza. She also says that about three lunches are spilled per week: usually hot lunch, drinks or chips. She says that this is the least stressful job that she has ever had. Ms. Plant believes that students appreciate her job a lot. For the holidays, she got a card from a student and multiple gift cards. She stocks chips on the shelves and waters in the cooler. Ms. Plant also notes that the majority of the students make healthy food decisions. Her schedule changes from day to day.

Ms. Plant is a great contributor to the Parker community. She is a hardworking woman supporting her family, and she is true to herself. Many people love Ms. Plant and her positive attitude. She is one out of the many links that hold Parker together, and without her Parker would not be the same. If you were to ask somebody, “Who is Ms. Plant?,” they would respond with a heartfelt and honest response about their admiration for her. We have been lucky to have been able to talk with Ms. Plant and we thank her for letting us interview her.