Despite rumors to the contrary, Nick Zwirblia, the Courtyard Cafe employee whom students know as the "Happy Hop Guy," will not leave the College, but is instead cutting back on his hours so he can pursue other interests while working at the College.
Students know Zwirblia as the friendly employee who enjoys chatting with patrons in the Hopkins Center's dining facility, frequently greeting hungry students with a "Hey Guy! You want fries with that?"
Zwirblia, who works seven days a week at the Courtyard Cafe, said he recently contemplated quitting his job because it was "just too much" in combination with his work cleaning homes in Hanover, Lebanon and Norwich.
But after talking with his boss, Cynthia Hart, the manager of the Courtyard Cafe, he said he realized that the job's benefits are too important to give up.
"I love my job at the College, the people I work for and with, and the students," said Zwirblia, who has held the job for five years.
Instead of quitting, Zwirblia said he decided to cut his work time to four days a week to allow him to pursue other career options, such as attending nursing school.
"At this point I don't think I'll ever leave the College," he said.
Zwirblia said he knows he is well-liked by students and that they would miss him if he were to quit.
"I think he's great. It's cool to come in and have someone who's happy to see you," Matt Welander '97 said.
Zwirblia said communicating with students is his favorite part of the job.
"He makes my day cheery," Artie Zweil '94 said.
Although Courtyard Cafe employees rotate through all the facility's work stations, Zwirblia said he prefers the dessert area because it gives him a view of everyone who comes into the cafe's serving area and allows him to talk to all the customers.
He said he is less fond of working at the cash register because it is not conducive to conversation.
"He's cool. He's fast on the register," Kimberly Cleavelend '96 said.
But students are not the only ones who praise Zwirblia.
"He's excellent," co-worker Donna O'gara said.
"Nobody wanted to see him leave," Alice Bushcy, another Courtyard Cafe employee, said.
Zwirblia said he thoroughly enjoys his job and is more than happy with the salary, although his dream of being photographed with College President James Freedman is yet to be fulfilled.
Zwirblia's roommate Claude Thurston, also an employee of Courtyard Cafe and a nursing school student, said that for many, the job at the Courtyard Cafe is a stepping stone to help pay for education and to go on to better work.
Thurston said it is the nature of the job and not the students that makes the work stressful some days.
