Paces Cafe

Liz Upshur, senior
Economics, political science
Newtown, Ct.
eupshur1@swarthmore.edu

I started going to Paces every night once it opened my freshman year. I'm from France, where I used to go to a cafe every single day, and I didn't want to get out of the habit once I came to the States. Eventually, my friends started stopping by as well, so I could get some socializing in while I was working. Since then, I've been there almost every night it's been open (except, of course, when I was abroad).

"Now as the director of Paces, I'm responsible for hiring, training, and supervising a staff of about 40. I also help plan theme events and 'takeovers' by campus groups. Every now and then I step in for the coordinator and take care of inventory, pick out the menus every week, make up grocery lists - a bunch of things. It's a very challenging job, but most of the time that's good.

"Also, in a concrete way, it's a gigantic boost to my resume. Being able to say you run a subsidized business and do everything from making sure there's enough mops in the closet to hiring and training the staff is very helpful.

I love working with people and finding out their different strengths. One example is finding events for the baker who likes to decorate cakes. My interactions with the staff and figuring out ways to make their work experience better are probably the best part of my job. It's more rewarding than cleaning out dirty fridges."