After taking a bite out of the pizza at lunch, I realized how much work is being put into prep, cooking, and getting it ready for other students to enjoy

Well, Vivian Boffeta does just that with her bubbly and welcoming personality. But, she also does more for the kids than just the delicious pizza they get daily. So much more for kids than just realizing how delicious the pizza is.

To know Mrs. Boffeta is to understand what led her to this career after she retired from the workforce. She immediately felt an absence on her leave and looked to find a part-time job. After working her part-time jobs, she walked through her neighborhood one night and saw a sign for “Food Workers Wanted.” She told herself, “I can do that. Why not?” She soon then started working at Highland and has been for almost nine years. Overall, in a day, Boffeta puts in about five miles at work. 

When starting the job, she thought it would only serve the kids, but then, “Little did I know that this job was very, very labor intensive.” Mrs.Boffeta does a lot of work from behind the counter and switches things all around. But with the help she gets and receives from her team, she loves the extra hand. In those nine years of working at the school, teamwork is what it means for her. She couldn’t describe it in her own words the team she works with, but she loves how everybody pitches in and help where they are needed.

Not only does teamwork mean the most to her, but also the kids as well. There are ups and downs for students, either way, she loves her interaction with them. A fond memory of Boffeta’s is when one of the regular students within her line found out it was her birthday and stood in the middle of the cafeteria singing happy birthday to her where everyone soon joined in. She described that moment as, “I beat red and I don’t get embarrassed that easily.” The student did it twice before they soon graduated. Speaking of students, they are the best part of Boffeta’s job, “If I was serving adults. I wouldn’t be working here no more,” with a light-hearted tone. Students who walk into the cafeteria in a good mood make her smile and also connect with them.

She doesn’t do well with any formal titles such as ma’am, as the students call her. Not only does she want this to be a comfortable environment for her, but also the kids. She wants the kids to not only be polite to her and comfortable, but she wants them to go and experience being polite and comfortable with other people. “It’s all about you guys.” Boffeta worked all through Covid last year and through the summer, and what warmed her heart the most was knowing that she was helping out families with the free food they were serving at the time. But with positive experiences, there always come negative ones. As much as she hated to admit it, the rude kids, “… Every once in a while it would be a student with a bad day, or something else. But 99% of the time the students are good.”

Mrs. Boffeta has made nothing, but great memories for not only her but for the students as well. She soon hopes she makes more interactions with the students before the semester ends and goes off to retire with nothing, but great memories, faces, and interactions.