Lunch with the Ladies

Lunch with theLadies

Cafeteria duo continues serving smiles

Photos & Story | Cassidy Smith

The cafeteria is one place on campus that students leave with a full belly and smiles on their faces. From the moment a student walks in, they are welcomed with open arms. Not only is the delicious food being served giving the students a smile on their faces, but the warm welcomes from Eddie Mae Robinson and Caroline Blackburn are too contagious not to smile back.

These amazing ladies have been the face of the Hutchinson Community College cafeteria for the past 20 years. They have seen their fair share of hangry and stressed college students and continue to greet them with a welcoming smile.

Their job includes taking the money and meal cards from students, helping clean the cafeteria, answering the phone and greeting everyone that walks into the cafeteria.

“It’s a good place to work, the kids are great, they make my day,” Caroline said.

“The respect I get from all the other workers, and the respect and love I get from the youth,” Eddie Mae said about what she enjoys about her job. The students love these ladies like they are family.

Some even call them mom, grandma, and memaw.

Every year, a new group of students flow in and out of the cafeteria. Being away from friends and family can be tough for some students, everything is different and some students miss the familiarity as well as a good home-cooked meal.

“Miss Mae and Caroline always have smiles on their faces, it’s nice to see after a long day at class,” Christian Sampson, Maize, said.

Every year hundreds of students enter the cafeteria and Caroline and Eddie Mae have made it a point to try to get to know as many as possible. They make it a point to ask their names, where they are from, how they ended up at HutchCC and just get to know a little bit about each of them. Eddie Mae even takes a student to church every Sunday, they hang out with Eddie Mae and her family. Eddie Mae takes this particular student to church and feeds them breakfast, lunch, and dinner because they miss the meals that the college provides.

Photo | Cassidy Smith Eddie Mae Robinson lights up the HutchCC Cafeteria with her contagous smile. Eddie Mae has been at HutchCC for 20 years now.

For 20 years Caroline Blackburn and Eddie Mae Robinson have served approximately 8,860 students & 26,580 meals

Photo |Cassidy Smith Andrea Serreno, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, greets Eddie Mae at the register during dinner with a smile. Serreno was also a part of the HuthCC volleyball team.

“This student told me that they just want to go to church, he hadn’t been to church since they arrived,” Eddue Mae said. “We exchanged contacts and every they attend church me and my folks every. single. Sunday.”

This is just one of the small gestures that these ladies have done that continue to impact the students at HutchCC.

They don’t just take the money in line and send students on their way. Caroline and Eddie Mae want students to feel like they are family. They want to bond with them, check in, make sure classes are going well. They care. For 20 years, they have seen thousands of students and never failed to make every single one feel welcomed. Without them, the cafeteria would not be the same.

Photo | Cassidy Smith C.J. Moya, Naples, hands Eddie Mae his student ID to get breakfast in the cafeteria. Moya was part of the Blue Dragon football team.

Photo | HutchCC Collegian Archives Caroline Blackburn gets ready to greet students with a welcomeing grin. Caroline has been a part of the HutchCC staff for 20 years.