Author: Rachel Stober
Known to most students simply as Kathy, the Marketplace chef Kathlene Lauriha embodies the polar opposite of the stereotypically mean “lunch lady.” Almost any day of the week, students can count on a compliment, pet name or friendly conversation to accompany a sandwich from Lauriha, who has become a comforting staple at the Marketplace.
Lauriha, however, has not always been Occidental’s beloved sandwich-maker. In 1997 Lauriha retired after 33 years as a flight attendant for Trans World Airlines (TWA), an occupation she chose as an alternative to expected career paths for women during that era.
“When I was in college you could do one of two things: become a teacher or nurse,” Lauriha said. “I saw an ad for being a stewardess and it looked so enticing, and I really didn’t want to be a nurse or a teacher. I think subconsciously it wasn’t that I didn’t want to be [those occupations], but that I didn’t want to stay in a small town, and that’s what you did then, you stayed in a small town.”
So instead of staying in Arcadia where she grew up, Lauriha joined the ballooning jet age, a time when flying was still a novel luxury to many Americans.
“[TWA] was hiring a lot of young women, and it was a really great job to have,” Lauriha said. “If you grew up in the 50s, you never took a plane anywhere, it was always a road trip. So one of the perks was after six months you got a pass so we could take our parents on trips, and they’d never flown before so it was really nice.”
Lauriha says she loved her time as a stewardess, flying both domestically and internationally throughout her career before landing at Occidental in 1997. She started out working in the Faculty Club, which is currently the Dennis and Mollie Collins Admission House. Lauriha joined the Marketplace’s workforce after a few years and has been there ever since.
“I love working here,” Lauriha said. “There’s a lot of different personalities. Days can get interesting, let’s just put it like that, but I think most everybody that works here, especially preparing the food, really cares about the students and they want to do a nice job.”
When asked what the secret to her carefully crafted sandwiches is, Lauriha says she does not like to rush and instead prefers to put an effort into layering the sandwiches’ contents and cutting it for presentation.
“I’m sure some kids say, ‘I wish you’d hurry up,’ but . . . I want to make something that I’d want my child to eat or that I’d like to eat,” Lauriha said.
Perhaps her real secret is what most students know Lauriha for, her warm smile and genuine interest in how each student is faring.
“A typical interaction with Kathy is definitely something to brighten anyone’s day,” Caroline Bringenberg (sophomore) said. “She is always interested in how our classes are going, how we are enjoying life on campus and what else is new in our lives. She definitely takes the extra initiative to get to know each and every student on campus.”
Lauriha attributes her friendly manner and dedication to providing an enjoyable customer experience to her kind parents and years of serving people as a stewardess.
“When you started flying in ‘64 everything was about customer service,” Lauriha said. “When you finished, you didn’t sit down and talk to your friends, you circulated the cabin and talked to people to make them feel secure, so I really like to do that . . . When you go to a restaurant and the wait person takes time with you and pays a little attention to you and doesn’t throw the food at you and doesn’t act like they’re incredibly annoyed with taking your order, the food might not be the greatest, but you’ll go back for the customer service and the kindness.”
Although Lauriha says providing such customer service from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. does not leave her with much free time, she fills her spare hours with reading, her two cats, Zachary and Thomas, and regular get-togethers with other members of The Silver Wings, an international organization of retired TWA flight attendants. Even though her job keeps her busy, it is clear that Lauriha finds joy in the personal aspect of her work and watching students grow through the short but frequent lunchtime glimpses into their lives.
“I love it when they come in as freshmen, and you can tell they’re a little apprehensive and then to see them four years later ready to graduate with a specific goal in mind of what they want to do. [It] is really great,” Lauriha said. “I think when they let me into their lives, even just a little bit, it’s so nice.”
Students seem more than happy to have Lauriha’s supportive presence and daily encouragement as a part of their Occidental experience.
“In my opinion, Kathy is an integral part of the Oxy community,” Bringenberg said. “She definitely works to strengthen the bond between staff and students, and I think her extremely friendly, kind personality is a great reminder of how close-knit the Oxy community is. The marketplace wouldn’t be the same without her.”
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