Each day upon entering the dining halls, hundreds of Tufts students mechanically hand off their ID cards to get swiped before moving on to the food stations. We usually give little thought to the people behind the scenes — the men and women preparing our food, cleaning up after us and swiping us in — or to the fact that they all have their own stories beyond the dining hall.
Carlton Sewell: Second cook and stir-fry specialist
Although he's spent the last thirty years in the United States, Carlton Sewell was born and raised in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. When Sewell was a child, his father worked in the security sector.
"If you are a policeman in Jamaica, you can work for the government and then be a security guard," he said.
His father's double employment helped bring in extra money to help support Sewell's family. But his father's job also brought Sewell face-to-face with the rich and famous.
"I had a lot of experience growing up in the Playboy [Club-Hotel] as a kid," said Sewell, whose father worked as a security guard for the celebrities that came to stay in the Ocho Rios.
"I used to see [Hugh Hefner] around the hotel because my father was head security," Sewell said.
Sewell's culinary expertise, however, grew out of the time he spent in the kitchen cooking with his mother.
"I grew up with food a lot, and I liked to cook," he said. "And [my mother] is where it comes from."
Sewell said he plans to incorporate Jamaican flavors into his dish in the upcoming Chef's Challenge at Carmichael dining hall.
Sewell's love of cooking took him from his mother's kitchen to many Boston-area restaurants, including Souper Salad on Newbury Street in the Back Bay neighborhood. Eventually, Sewell made his way to Carmichael, where he's been for over five years now. The difference, he said, is in the chance to socialize with students.
"They talk to you, they respect you," he said. "I've never had a bad experience."
Sewell said he also enjoys the input he can have in student's dining choices when cooking for them, especially on stir-fry nights.
"I can see a student coming up on the stir-fry line, and I know what he's going to order," Sewell said.
This passion for his work fuels Sewell's ability to be imaginative in the kitchen.
"We always try to be creative with the menu," he said. "We always try to make the place more lively."
Linda Borelli: Cashier
Born and raised in Medford, Linda Borelli said she's admired Tufts since she was a kid.
"Everybody wanted to go to Tufts, especially when you were in high school," she said, adding that Tufts was kind to Medford-area schools, accepting many of its students into the university.
But Borelli's family history in Medford doesn't begin with her and her two brothers; her father was born and raised in Medford as well. Her mother, on the other hand, emigrated from Ireland as a teenager.
Soon after graduating high school, Borelli got married and had four kids, who now work in various fields.
Her daughter is a registered nurse who works as the nurse manager of the Sumner Redstone Burns Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in downtown Boston.
Her son, a former Marine, just finished five years of service, which included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Five years is a long time," she said but added that he returned to the United States unharmed and has plans to become a police officer.
Borelli said working in Carmichael for 11 years has made her push her kids to work harder in their educational pursuits. But she acknowledged that going to college is unfamiliar terrain in her family.
"In my day, not everybody went to college. In the '50s, that wasn't a big deal," she said, adding that she is very proud of all of her children for continuing their education beyond high school.
Anna Rico: Head cafeteria worker
Originally from Abruzzi, Italy, Anna Rico learned to cook alongside her mother at the age of 12. Although she has lived in America for many years, Rico continues to cook food reminiscent of her former home in Abruzzi and has since expanded upon what her mother taught her. She can craft sculptures, animals and flowers out of fruits and vegetables, she said, but her favorite food is still relatively simple.
"Gnocchi," she said matter-of-factly.
Born in 1937, Rico lived through the worst of World War II.
"We had to leave our house and go into a cave," she said, discussing her family's efforts to escape from the soldiers. But her hardships in Italy extended beyond the war.
"We had no water or lights in the house back in the day," she said. During the war, jobs in Italy were in short supply, which she said fueled her husband's decision to move to the United States 42 years ago. She eventually followed with their two young children and settled in Medford.
Before he died, Rico's husband worked as a mason after arriving in America, working on many of Tufts' buildings throughout his career. Rico herself has worked in the dining halls for about 25 years.
Rico hopes that her family's legacy at Tufts will continue. Her youngest granddaughter is waiting to find out whether she has been accepted to Tufts. Rico said that she would love for her granddaughter to join her here, where she has enjoyed working for many years.
"I like to work with the kids," she said. "This is the kind of job I like to do."
Although Rico fondly remembers how she used to set up holiday decorations in Carmichael Dining Hall, nowadays she takes it easy and doesn't get up on the ladders like she used to.
"I'm too old," she said.
As a veteran of both Carmichael and Dewick dining halls — having worked in Dewick for many summers — Rico said that she prefers Carmichael because of its atmosphere, suggesting that many students feel the same way about its cozy feel.
"Dewick is too big," she said. "Carmichael is more like a family."
