Details
General Manager Cafés/Bobcat Essentials, Ohio University
Athens, Ohio,
Age: 27
Education: Associates degree in applied business in culinary arts from Hocking College, Nelsonville, Ohio
Years at organization: 11
Why Selected?
Mohamed Ali, director of retail, says: Stacy has overseen a major renovation in the Front Room Coffeehouse. In addition, she has overseen the opening of a third campus café while continuing to improve the existing cafés. She has worked the past three years to improve and grow sales in her four campus locations, which now gross more than $1.2 million a year. Sales in one of the cafés have consistently increased by 20% each year, and she has lowered labor and food costs as well. As the only full-time manager in her units, Stacy oversees a staff of 150 students, four coordinators and two interns in four locations. Stacy has also changed the Bobcat Essentials store dramatically. Everything, from item selection and price, has improved making it one of the prime locations to shop for Bobcat gear. Her brand selections and choice of variety have helped increase sales in Bobcat Essentials by 62% during the last three years.
Get to know
Getting where I am today, but I certainly can’t take [total] credit for it. I’ve had amazing mentors to guide me in all areas of my life: personal, professional and academic. They gave me the freedom to learn and make mistakes, then picked me up and helped make me a better person.
Q. What's the best career advice you've been given?Stay strong and confident. Believe in yourself and don’t let the job change who you are.
Q. What's been the biggest challenge you've had to overcome?Being younger in this industry offers a unique set of challenges. For me, it was starting at Ohio University while in high school and moving up. When I began as an assistant manager, I was managing my peers’ parents.
Q. What would you like to accomplish in your career in the next two years?Currently we’re working to reopen our apparel store as a campus bookstore. I would like to accomplish a smooth and successful reopening, and we’re excited to provide this wonderful new service to our students.
Q. What's been your funniest on-the-job disaster?My first homecoming as an assistant catering manager could have been seen as a disaster. After a full night of rain, we were catering tailgate parties outside in a field that could have been a swimming pool. By the end of the day I was wearing an entire pan of baked beans, had extinguished a fire that we didn’t start and had fallen in the mud. Looking back, I can only laugh because our team made it work and everyone was happy with the service.
Q. What can you look back at now and laugh at?I had only worked as an assistant manager for a few months before being asked to help pack up and move the department to a new location. I was still learning some areas of the building and there were items I still didn’t know where to find. I even got stuck in our linen closet—the door locked on me—but was finally rescued by a helpful student. While, at the time it was stressful and I felt lost, I look back now and laugh and am thankful for the experience.