Pitch

The possible subject of my feature is Ruth from the dining hall. Ruth works in the sandwich line where she interacts heavily with students. She engages in conversation with every student who comes through her line. She always asks about student days and gets to know the UNE student population. She once said, “I love this job because I can put a smile on students’ faces”. Students know and love Ruth, and I am interested to know more about her. Numerous students have said how much they appreciate her kindness. She is an influential person on campus who deserves recognition.

The angle of the story is getting to know who Ruth actually is. A majority of students have interacted with her and see her on a daily basis. However, nobody knows anything about Ruth except that she works at a dining hall. It would be interesting to uncover more about who Ruth is and see what working in her job is like. I could find out more about what her life is like and what led her to working here. It could also be interesting to find out what makes her have long conversations with every student instead of just making their sandwich and moving on.

Some potential questions could include:

How long have you worked at UNE?
What is your favorite part of your job?
What inspires you to get to know each student?
What is your least favorite part of your job?
Did you always see yourself working in this type of job? Or did you have other career aspirations?
Where are you from?

200 Word Draft/Outline

A campus icon: making smiles on sandwich at a time

Jadyn Stevens

3/22/25

University Student

Ruth, a University of New England dining hall worker, improves the day of students during their trips to the dining hall.

Whether it’s a sandwich or a wrap, Ruth has it covered. Ruth is one of the many UNE dining hall workers during the busy lunch shift. She works the deli and provides students with made to order sandwiches.

Nutgraf: official title, how long she has worked at UNE, what exactly she does in the dining hall (e.g. responsibilities she has)

Background information: age, where she is from, has she always wanted to do a job like this, personal details (e.g. relationship status, kids,), what does she do outside of work

Additional information: favorite part of her job, hardest part of her job, motivation to create personal relationships with students, what a typical shift looks like for her

Quotes from other people: head of Parkhurst dining, other dining hall workers who work with her, students who interact with her

Final paragraph: What does the future look like for her? Are there plans to retire? Or, move on to a new career at some point?

400 Word Draft

A campus icon in the dining hall

Getting to know a staff member who makes people smile one sandwich at a time

Jadyn Stevens

3/31/25

University Student

Ruth Gould, a University of New England dining hall worker, improves the day of students during their trips to the dining hall.

Whether it’s a sandwich or a wrap, Ruth has it covered. Ruth is one of the many UNE dining hall workers during the busy lunch shift. She is the Deli Lead and provides students with made to order sandwiches. During her four years here, she sets the deli up, does some prep, makes sure the product is prepared, and cleans the oven and bar.

“My favorite part of the job is interacting with students. It lightens up my day and I love having conversations”, says Ruth.

Ruth strives to make personal connections with each student. Sophomore Dental Hygiene major, Jordyn Stockwell says, “She has always been really friendly, and it’s clear she really cares about the students that she interacts with. Her compliments always make my day!”

Working in the service industry has always been a part of her life. She worked in a kitchen for ten to fifteen years. “. I really like working with others and it is a part of who I am. I just love to serve people”.

Her job is not always easy. She has lots of responsibilities that often require time restraint. Ruth says, “The hardest part is prep work as it is time sensitive. We are sometimes shorthanded, which makes it even harder”.

The difficulties do not stop her from engaging positively with students. “I care about people in general. The deli should be a place where people can laugh and be open”, she says.

Sophomore Nursing major Daniel Buterbaugh has experienced this friendliness, “She always takes the time to ask me about my day. She always makes sure to say something nice to each student she sees”. He goes on to say, “Plus, she makes the best sandwiches.”

This friendliness may be credited to her family experiences. Ruth is from the small town of Pitson, Maine. She comes from a loving family where she is the third to last of four sisters and three brothers. “We all have a good rapport together and have very loving parents. They had a sense of humor and we all inherited it. They taught us it is important to laugh things off”, she comments.

Outside of working at UNE, she likes to spend her time with family and friends. She also likes to partake in her hobbies of gardening, dancing, and reading.

Workshop Draft (800 Words)

A campus icon in the dining hall

Getting to know a staff member who makes people smile one sandwich at a time

Jadyn Stevens

4/5/25

University Student

Whether it’s a sandwich or a wrap, Ruth Gould improves the day of students during their trips to the dining hall.

Gould is one of the many UNE dining hall workers during the busy lunch shift. She is the Deli Lead and provides students with made to order sandwiches. During her four years here, she sets the deli up, does some of the prep, makes sure the product is prepared, and cleans the oven and bar. She maintains the deli area and makes sure the allergen free section is not contaminated. During the lunch shift, she works directly with students.

“My favorite part of the job is interacting with students. It lightens up my day and I love having conversations”, says Gould.

Gould strives to make personal connections with each student. She engages in conversation with every student that comes through her line. Each student is treated with kindness and friendliness.

Sophomore Dental Hygiene major, Jordyn Stockwell says, “She has always been really friendly, and it’s clear she really cares about the students that she interacts with. Her compliments always make my day!”

Working in the service industry has always been a part of her life. She worked in a kitchen for ten to fifteen years before coming to UNE. “I really like working with others and it is a part of who I am. I just love to serve people”.

Although, her job is not always easy. She has lots of responsibilities that often require time restraint. Gould says, “The hardest part is prep work as it is time sensitive. We are sometimes shorthanded, which makes it even harder”.

Director of Dining, Dan Estey has noticed the hard work that Gould does. “She is a very dedicated worker”, said Esteys.

Each dining hall employee had to complete an allergy certification. Gould completed the program, and even scored the highest on the test. This achievement is something to be proud of as it requires an understanding of allergy safety.

The hard work does not stop her from engaging positively with students. “I care about people in general. The deli should be a place where people can laugh and be open”, she says.

This friendliness may be credited to her family experiences. Gould is from the small town of Pitson, Maine. She comes from a loving family where she is the third to last of four sisters and three brothers. “We all have a good rapport together and had very loving parents. They had a sense of humor and we all inherited it. They taught us it is important to laugh things off”, she comments.

Buterbaugh says, “Ruth loves to make jokes. She is very funny and always finds something to laugh about”.

Her motivation for creating personal relationships with students is to provide encouragement and support to every student.

“It is difficult to be a student because of the workload. I want to be a person they can talk to and bring some light into it”, said Gould.

Esteys can attest to the connections made with students. “She is amazing, and she goes above and beyond for every student. Probably every student on campus knows her name”.

Sophomore Psychology major Lily Lewark says, “She always makes conversation with me, even if it’s about something small like the weather”.

“I just care about people in general. I am here at UNE, and it is my job to be there for students”, says Gould.

Lewark says, “Talking to her always puts a smile on my face. She brightens up my day”.

Although Gould is very happy at her job at UNE, she hopes to retire within the next few years. She has worked for her whole life and is looking forward to some time off.

Outside of working at UNE, she likes to spend her time with family and friends. She also enjoys partaking in her hobbies of gardening, dancing, and reading.

Her goal for retirement is to live in an apartment close to her son. Family is an important part of her life and she is looking forward to spending time with him. She dreams of living close by to take care of her future grandchildren.

Until then, Gould will continue to spend her days working at UNE and serving her beloved students.

Gould says, “My goal everyday is to make a sandwich that is made with lots of love”.

Revised/Final Draft

Sandwiches made with love at UNE

A University of New England staff member who makes people smile one sandwich at a time

Jadyn Stevens

4/14/25

University Student

Whether it’s a sandwich or a wrap, Ruth Gould improves the day of students during their trips to the dining hall.

Gould is one of the many UNE dining hall workers during the busy lunch shift. She is the Deli Lead and provides students with made to order sandwiches.

During her four years here, she sets the Deli up, does some of the prep, makes sure the product is prepared, and cleans the oven and bar. She maintains the Deli area and makes sure the allergen free section is not contaminated. During the lunch shift, she works directly with students. Countless students visit the Deli section of the dining hall each day where Ruth assembles each sandwich.

“My favorite part of the job is interacting with students. It lightens up my day and I just love having conversations”, says Gould.

Gould strives to make personal connections with each student. She engages in conversation with everyone that comes through her line. Each student is treated with kindness and friendliness.

Sophomore Dental Hygiene major, Jordyn Stockwell recognizes this kindness during each visit to the deli.

Stockwell says, “She has always been really friendly, and it’s clear she really cares about the students that she interacts with. Her compliments always make my day!”

Working in the service industry has always been a part of her life. She worked in a kitchen for ten to fifteen years before coming to UNE. Gould says, “I really like working with others and it is simply a part of who I am. I just love to serve people”.

Although, her job is not always easy. She has lots of responsibilities that often require time restraint. As the Deli Lead, she is responsible for getting the Deli ready each morning. Gould says, “The hardest part is prep work as it is time sensitive. We are sometimes shorthanded, which makes it even harder”.

Director of Dining, Dan Estey has noticed the hard work that Gould does. “She is a very dedicated worker”, said Esteys.

The hard work does not stop her from engaging positively with students. “I care about people in general. The deli should be a place where people can laugh and be open”, she says.

Sophomore Nursing major Daniel Buterbaugh has experienced this friendliness, “She always takes the time to ask me about my day. I’ve noticed that she always makes sure to say something nice to each student she sees”. He goes on to say, “Plus, she makes the best sandwiches.”

Buterbaugh says, “Ruth loves to make jokes. She is very funny and always finds something to laugh about”.

Her motivation for creating personal relationships with students is to provide encouragement and support to every student. “It is difficult to be a student because of the workload. I want to be a person they can talk to and bring some light into it”, said Gould.

Esteys can attest to the connections made with students. “She is amazing, and she goes above and beyond for every student. Probably every student on campus knows her name”. Her kindness goes a long way for each student, and is noticeable for everyone who sees her.

“She always makes conversation with me, even if it’s about something small like the weather”, says Sophomore Psychology major Lily Lewark.

Gould understands that being a college student is difficult and there are countless pressures on students. “I just care about people in general. I am here at UNE, and it is my job to be there for students”, says Gould.

Lewark goes to the Deli for lunch almost everyday. Lewark says, “Talking to her always puts a smile on my face. She brightens up my day”.

Although Gould is very happy at her job at UNE, she hopes to retire within the next few years. She has worked for her whole life and is looking forward to some time off. Outside of working at UNE, she likes to spend her time with family and friends. She also enjoys partaking in her hobbies of gardening, dancing, and reading.

Until then, Gould will continue to spend her days working at UNE and serving her beloved students. Gould says, “My goal everyday is to make a sandwich that is made with lots of love”.

Workshop Reflection

The workshop for the profile piece was a very positive experience. I was in a group with Elizabeth and Bennett. Both of them provided me valuable feedback which I incorporated into my final draft. During our conversation we discussed a variety of things including structure, elements a feature should have, the picture, quotes, and more. The thing that we discussed the most were the headlines. Each of us found the headlines to be the hardest part of writing a profile piece. Before the workshop, I was struggling with coming up with a headline that was catchy and informative. I put in a placeholder headline which was, “A campus icon in the dining hall”. They gave me some suggestions. One suggestion that I didn’t use was “The secret ingredient is love”. I ended up using a suggestion that Elizabeth gave me. The headline of my piece is “Sandwiches made with love at UNE”. It is much more creative than the one I had before. It describes the positivity that my profile person has and creates interest. Another thing I fixed based on my workshop was my picture. They both liked my picture, but gave the suggestion to embed the picture into the text. They also said to try to format the picture better so that it looks less squished. Another comment was to make my paragraphs a little bit longer. Some were on the shorter side, so I added more sentences and combined some. I agree that it makes the profile look better and will be easier to read. Some of the quotes needed extra background to make it sound less obvious. I added some extra sentences which helped the quotes flow better. It was a really beneficial workshop experience. I learned a lot from listening to my peers’ comments and I am thankful for the advice.

Final Reflection

The profile piece project was a lot of fun to write! I enjoyed the overall process starting with the pitch. I have met some influential faculty and staff members at UNE, so it was a difficult choice to pick one person. I ended up going with Ruth Gould, who is the Deli Lead at the dining hall. She works at the Deli station and provides students with made to order sandwiches. I choose her based on many positive experiences I have had with her over my time at UNE. I have also heard numerous positive remarks from students who have interacted with her. I only knew her from informal interactions in the dining hall and I wanted to learn more about her. I had a great time interviewing her. I sat down and had a wonderful conversation with her. She told me about her job at UNE, background, personal life, and motivation for creating relationships with students. I also interviewed three students and the director of dining services. Interviewing was the most fun part of the project. However, I also enjoyed putting the quotes into the piece itself. I had plenty of quotes to strengthen and back up the claims that I am making. One thing I struggled with was the headline. I had issues coming up with a headline that was creative and informative. I ended up getting the headline from the workshop. My peers helped me brainstorm a much more effective headline. The workshop provided me with numerous critiques which I used to edit my profile. I incorporated comments based on quotes, the picture, structure, and more. These edits made my final draft better and more organized. Overall, I really enjoyed this project. I found that I like writing profile pieces more than the feature. I enjoyed writing something more personal and in a softer news style. This experience was very interesting and I am thankful for all the aspects of the process!