Joseph Papineau

While Strossner's has a couple different departments, I work in the cafe, specifically as a closer. I am responsible to clean the kitchen as well as storing the food in a way that complies with health and safety codes which requires strict attention to detail. I am also responsible for making any of the orders that come in during my shift, which also requires attention to detail and customer service as I serve them their food. I am often solely responsible for the entire cafe during the last couple hours of the store's open hours. I also maintain a positive relationship with my coworkers, both within the cafe and across the other departments of the store, as I manage the cafe and ensure the work environment is left in a clean and safe position at the end of each night.

Over the summer of 2023, my church hosted a mission trip to support the Poe Mill neighborhood, which is below the poverty line. While the majority of the crew were high school volunteers, I alongside 4 others were accepted into the paid position of Junior Staff. As a team we hosted a day camp at a church that was in the Poe Mill area and the job given to Junior Staff was to oversee the camp and teach the other volunteers how to effectively lead the campers. In the mornings we also completed various mission projects where we assisted the surrounding churches with general maintenance work. I also took a leadership role in this area. Towards the end of the third week, unforeseen circumstances prevented us from running the day camp in the area we were in. As a result, Junior Staff was given the job of re-creating the day camp at Grace Church with the materials and space that we had. This experience as a whole bonded our team together and I had a strong connection with my coworkers as we overcame the numerous obstacles that came with the work we were doing while continuously seeking out ways in which the camp could be run more effectively.

During the summer of 2022, I was employed as kitchen staff for Bethel Christian Camp. The camp lasted eight weeks, with one additional week at the beginning of June for staff training. I worked Monday through Friday preparing all three meals for around a hundred campers a week. I also maintained a safe and operational kitchen and dining area which included properly using industrial kitchen equipment and sanitizing the workspace. I was also involved with stocking the kitchen as well as preparing the meals using recipes and directions from the head of our kitchen. Over the eight weeks our team successfully facilitated the camp meals and sustained an environment in compliance with health and camp guidelines.