Fayetteville Students Continue Work-Study Program

Five Seniors Help Out Orsak’s Cafe During Time of Need for All Involved

The coronavirus pandemic robbed a lot of high school seniors of the most memorable time in school – the final weeks before graduation. That’s the time for reminiscing, prom and banquets. For some, though, the pandemic brought a new experience – a taste of adulthood before leaving home.

Case in point: the five workstudy students employed by Orsak’s Cafe in Fayetteville.

“I have a lot of employees who are over 65 and they’re advised to not be out in the public,” said Orsak’s owner Terri McPherson. “These students stepped up and took their hours. It made it very nice, since they were out of school.”

Amber Canik, Dustin Canik, Gage Briggs, Sydney Knight and Braden Kubala work at Orsak’s as part of Fayetteville High School’s half day work-study program. Around March 23, the restaurant closed its dining rooms and began offering curbside service. McPherson said several of her long-time elderly employees decided to stay home from work until the pandemic passes. Business slowed considerably, but McPherson said she committed to keeping everyone else employed through the duration of the crisis.

“Then Missy over here decided to remodel the restaurant,” McPherson said, pointing to Amber Canik. “She dragged Sydney and Dustin in on the project, and they started repainting my other dining room.”

The students went to work freshening up the dining room in the southwest corner of Orsak’s. They repainted the mis-matched walls blue like the other dining room.

“Painting the restaurant was a lot of fun,” Amber Canik said. “I made some good memories with my friends while we were out of school.”

McPherson said she enjoyed watching the students grow into young adults while working at the restaurant.

“Take Sydney for example, when she first started, she was kind of scared and stood over by the coffee pot forever,” McPherson said. “You can’t push them, because they’re young and its all new. But they adjusted well. Now, I don’t even have to come in half the time because they can run the restaurant on their own.”

Briggs, who busses tables and washes dishes at the restaurant, said a lot of students are sad about missing the end of their senior year, but he has enjoyed the freedom to grow a moustache and beard.

“They don’t let me have it at school,” Briggs said.

Briggs will have to shave it soon though, as he and Kubala are both entering the military after this summer.