“Enjoy Your Meal!”: Eleni Mosher, Star of the JA Dining Hall

Photo courtesy of Connecticut College.

Connecticut College students constantly rave about the delicious salads, soups, and fresh bread served in the Jane Addams Dining Hall. There is one other thing that distinguishes the Jane Addams dining experience: Eleni Mosher, the woman who helps students swipe their Camel Cards. Mosher brightens the day of students by kindly greeting them as they swipe their cards and saying, “Enjoy your meal!” before they enter the dining hall. Students who tell her to “have a great day” are met with the heartfelt response, “have a better one!” 

Mosher grew up in the Peloponnese region of Greece and said she gets chills thinking about her childhood because Greece was “at war constantly.” The main war that happened during Mosher’s childhood was the Greek Civil War, spanning from about 1943 to 1949, in which the Greek government army defeated the Democratic Army of Greece (the military branch of the Communist Party of Greece). In our conversation she brought up a specific instance when a man, who she referred to as “the enemy,” came to her family’s house to steal their belongings. Mosher’s sister dressed up as an old woman and pretended to cry to the man and beg him to return their belongings. In the end, according to Mosher, “God gave it some thought and he gave us our stuff back.”

Mosher was a refugee who left Greece alone when she was 19 years old to escape persecution. While looking for work, she landed in New London. Mosher acquired different jobs in the food and garment industries before joining the dining staff at Conn in 1984. She worked in Harris Refectory before moving to Jane Addams Dining Hall. Mosher feels extremely grateful for her job at Connecticut College because she did not even expect to be hired. When asked what she enjoys most about her job, she said “Everything…[it’s a] dream come true.” She is good friends with her coworkers, one of whom is also from Greece, and appreciates that her swiping job allows her to sit because it is difficult for her to work in the kitchen now since she uses a cane. “I thank them day and night.”

Mosher said she has no complaints about her job at Connecticut College. She expressed, “[The students] know that I love them.” When asked what inspires her positivity, she said, “What choice do I have?…Being happy or being moody.” Mosher advises college students “to learn as much as they can while they’re young because their brains are more ‘with it’.”

Mosher has three daughters, and had one son who passed away about thirty years ago. One of her daughters has two kids— 13 and 15 years old— who Mosher referred to as “the love of [her] life.” Her daughter and grandchildren live close to New London, so Mosher visits with them every day.

When asked if she has any favorite foods served in the Jane Addams Dining Hall, Mosher replied, “Everything’s delicious…the food is good and clean.”

The Jane Addams Dining Hall is open for breakfast and lunch on weekdays, and it recently opened for indoor dining as well.