Marco Davila
Walking through the lunch line, you hear, “¿Papas?” and see a warm smile behind the voice. If you didn’t know his name before, now you do: he is Marco Davila.
Davila works in the salad department and comes to school early every morning to prepare breakfast and lunch for the students and staff.
However, this is not his first job in the food industry. Before coming to West, Davila worked at a local Italian restaurant for 19 years. He shares his experience of being the head chef at Basta Pizzeria Ristorante.
“I was the head [chef] in the morning, and then after COVID-19, we had to change plans, so I [became] the head chef at night,” Davila said. “I [had] a lot of adrenaline; it was a lot of work all the time.”
During his employment there, Davila was informed about an unexpected health condition.
“I never had problems with my health; I was a fun guy and played soccer. But then, I got a very bad headache, and I couldn’t sleep,” Davila said. “When I went to [get] surgery, they were like, ‘Sir, you’re going to be [here] for 12 hours, and [there’s a] 99% chance [of being] brain-dead, mute or blind.’”
Despite the shocking news, Davila maintained a positive mindset toward the situation as he returned to the hospital for multiple brain surgeries.
“Because God loved me and said, ‘No, you’re not going yet,’ I was not scared,” Davila said. “When they put me on the table to do surgery, I tried to keep it happy.”
Afterward, Davila decided to resign from his restaurant job due to the heavy workload and rising health concerns. As he was searching for a new job, he came across the opportunity to work at West.
“I started [in 2022], but then my health dropped off again, and I had to quit,” Davila said. “[Later], I [came] back, and now, I’ve been here for one year.”
Davila remained optimistic while he fought through his difficult journey and has come to appreciate the flexibility of his new job. While balancing his health and work on top of being a father, Davila spends most of his free time at home.
“I like to spend time with my ten-year-old son,” Davila said. “I [also] like to be in my shed, trying to fix [things] — sometimes replacing a phone screen.”
However, as his health issues have returned again, Davila notes the impacts they’ve had on his work.
“When you walk, you don’t feel it [in your nerves] because you’re [healthy]. For me, I feel it [in] every step like electric shocks,” Davila said. “If I’m not doing something, my pain [feels] worse, so I have to keep my brain busy.”
Regardless of how demanding his life may be, Davila puts on a smile every day.
“I like the people, the environment, the kids I serve,” Davila said. “I try to be friendly with all the kids because my job is my job, and that’s what we do.”
Mako Albright
A day in the life of Mako Albright, one of the iconic lunch ladies checking out your food, starts with an early morning at school preparing food for the breakfast and lunch periods at West, as well as lunch for the elementary schools.
“At seven o’clock, we start sending a cart to the [elementary schools],” Albright said. “I prepare for the elementary schools and set it up [in] the cold cart. The cart leaves at 9:30 a.m., so we have two hours to get ready. After that, I get ready for West [because] you guys have breakfast.”
Soon after, Albright starts preparing the fresh produce and packaging the cold sandwiches, wraps and salads for the lunch periods. Albright’s section is responsible for the fresh vegetables, the individual Caesar salads and the fresh fruit bowls.
Her job doesn’t end after lunch; she and the rest of the cafeteria staff stay to clean and prepare for the next day.
“[The cart] comes back around one o’clock from the [elementary] schools, so we take the stuff out and see how much the kids took. We document everything to make sure we send them enough food,” Albright said.
Although she enjoys her work now, Albright never imagined herself working in the food industry until she moved to the United States.
“I was a registered nurse [in Japan] and worked in the surgical room. It was fun, but it was stressful,” Albright said. “When I came to this country, I had to get a license that was totally different from Japan, and I didn’t want to do it all over again.”
Albright was conflicted with her nursing profession, which was one of the major reasons she decided to pursue a different career in the U.S. She recalls her long working hours back in Japan.
“When I was younger, I liked [being a nurse, but] I didn’t like the overtime [and] the night shift,” Albright said. “My job had three shifts, daytime, evening and overnight, so we had to rotate, and that was very hard. I didn’t want to work [overnight] anymore, so I came [to the U.S.].”
When she is not at work, Albright likes to spend time in nature with her family and dogs, Bevo and Pascal.
“I have two dogs, so usually I’m playing with the dogs. When my husband [and I] have time off together, we go traveling,” Albright said. “We usually take the dogs with us and go hiking and camping.”
In addition to exploring the outdoors, Albright has grown to love her job in the cafeteria, both because of the work environment and the district schedule.
“We see the kids [every day, who are] very bubbly. They give me energy because [I’m not] around kids much anymore,” Albright said. “My favorite part is the time off. [When] I was working in the medical field, I had to work [during] Christmas, and I didn’t get a summer break. So, yes, I love this job.”