A recipe for success on West Campus: Spotlight on Ashley McGlauflin
Ashley’s time at West Campus has been characterized by a special connection with the community.
At elementary school Ashley McGlauflin wanted to be a scientist. And if you’ve witnessed her rigorous approach to food service at West Campus, you can see she succeeded.
Beyond her inspiring and ever popular extended menu at the West Campus Café, Ashley’s near 3 years on the campus have been characterized by a special connection with the community.
The Texas native says she’s yet to meet anyone here – student, staff, faculty, or visitor – who she hasn’t sparked a connection with. “We talk about everything – from food, cracking jokes, or talking about science. I feel entirely at home here!”
West Campus is where Ashley wants to be.
Since settling in Connecticut at age 3, her interest in food was piqued by her mother. “She helped me make my first birthday cake when I was 8 years old,” she says (it was a vanilla cake with pink frosting and sprinkles). “We’d watch the food network on TV too. Now I have four children of my own and I help them make their own birthday cakes. Mostly my kids like to eat!”
Not that science has taken a back seat. “I still think of cooking like science,” says Ashley. “The way certain ingredients go together, or the chemistry of adding salt or seasoning to release the flavor in other ingredients. To make our falafel wrap, we organize the vegetables to keep them apart, so they stay fresh for our customers.”
Locating to West Haven at age 13, Ashley became a banquet server at Yale, a role she enjoyed for around 8 years. She remembers a particular event at the West Campus Conference Center.
“I had a feeling about this place,” she says of her first visit. “I liked the building and the kitchen – it felt open and modern. The place had a calming vibe and I said to myself that I wanted to work here with these people.”
A vacancy opened up, and the rest is history.
“In my fist weeks I was hyper focused on perfection, getting everything right,” says Ashley with trademark determination. “Every day since I’ve tried to find new and better ways to improve our offerings and our service.”
She applies the same energy and creativity to campus happy hours, making and delivering homemade pizza to appreciative campus crowds on Friday afternoons.
“I like being part of the team that supports our social events,” she says. “It gives me the opportunity to be creative in support of our campus community. I like to change it up to keep it interesting.”
“I’ve lived down the street most of my life,” says Ashley of her home in West Haven. “Being at a place of work that I love is an honor. I don’t take it for granted.”
Special praise is reserved for Hospitality teammates and the part they all play on campus. “We’re very lucky to be part of a great team in a special place,” she says. “People come to spend their lunch hour with us, to eat our food, and we truly appreciate that.”
“We get to show our love for our community, and they reciprocate. That feels like a valuable thing to do.”
If you know a staff member at West Campus who we should get to know, please get in touch with jon.atherton@yale.edu