Kathy Swan’s warm, cheerful voice turned a dining hall into a home. All it took was picking up a microphone.
Swan has been a checker at Proctor Dining hall for four years now, and has always held close relationships with the students.
“I just started talking to the kids and a lot of the kids open up. They’re very friendly. I kind of watch out for everybody and make sure everybody’s okay. I just love talking to the kids. They’re really sweet,” Swan said.
For a while, however, Swan started to nearly lose her voice from all that talking. Dining Services Manager Dawn Boise overheard her trying to warn students of Proctor’s impending closing time, and joked that she should use the microphone, which sits in a box above the sundae station and is sometimes used during Language Schools.
This past fall, Swan took Boise up on the offer. Swan recalled being shy and nervous at first, but to her delight, everyone seemed to love it. She likes the ability to interact with students beyond the quick interaction when they swipe their ID cards.
Swan first experimented with announcing birthdays, which remain her favorite.
“Sometimes I embarrass kids,” Swan laughed. “But they get over it.”
But she also continues to innovate on the microphone. Swan regularly announces sports games and results, and will also announce dance recitals, students getting into graduate schools and more upon request.
“The field hockey team always has breakfast in Proc before our home games, and this year we have loved having her on the microphone at breakfast to cheer for us and encourage people to attend our games. It makes us feel so supported and is one of those things that makes game days at Middlebury so fun!” Meg Shelburne ’24 wrote in a message to The Campus.
Swan’s biggest hit to date is trivia, which she now does every Sunday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
“It gives them something to look forward to on Sundays,” Swan said. “I think it makes everybody closer. Because they’re all trying to get the answers and everybody’s trying to work together.”
She looks up the questions ahead of time, which range from the first toy invented (a stick) to “In 1835, Richard Lawrence made the first attempt to assassinate a U.S. President but misfired. Who was the president? (Andrew Jackson).”
Those who bear witness to trivia will notice that in silent moments, Swan calls out specific students. Shane Farrell ’24.5 is one of those special shoutouts.
“I’m not really good at trivia but I guess because we’re friends whenever no one answers I’m the scapegoat and I’ll answer for her even if it’s wrong,” he said.
Farrell added that he has long been friendly with Swan, and appreciates that she always offers a warm hug.
“She’s honestly the sweetest human ever. So positive, so nice and super comforting as well,” Farrell said.
On Easter Sunday, Swan had the idea for an easter egg hunt. Executive Director of Food Service Operations Dan Detora agreed to offer a $25 declining balance gift card as the prize. But Swan’s hiding place of a lamp shade was seemingly too good, as none of the 15 students who showed up for the 7 a.m. event found it. So, she asked a final trivia question: What is the most popular french toast bake? The answer: caramel chocolate swirl. Swan also hosted a game of musical chairs, and offered bags of candy to students throughout the day.
Swan was beaming about the event for the rest of the day, telling students about her hiding spots and encouraging them to take candy. She said she was proud of the event, but is already thinking of improvements for next year.
Sometimes, though, Swan’s announcements are a bit less positive. She has used the microphone to remind students not to take their anger out on her for forgetting their ID card to get into the dining hall and to remember to exit by the dishes. When students exit at the entrance that Swan sits at, she told students in the dining hall, she often gets bumped into and injured.
“Come to me. I’m very easy to get along with,” Swan said in an interview with The Campus. “But if you’re sneaking in, it’s not so good.”
In another instance, she recalled a student calling her a jerk, and saying that it was her fault he would starve. Her coworker had to step in and reiterate that Swan was just doing her job, and that he had to leave.
“I felt bad that he had to leave because he’s probably hungry, but talk to me nice. I would have let him in, honestly. I’m not gonna make somebody starve. But you can’t treat people that way and expect to get in.”
Swan has long had a caring spirit. She was a nurse at Porter Hospital for 25 years, where she worked in the nursing home department for patients with dementia. Swan said the work, which was already challenging, became even too difficult when she lost both of her parents at the same time.
“I’d get too close and then I would lose somebody. It just got too much,” she said.
Middlebury is glad to have a creative, dedicated spirit like Swan. Her warm voice and cheery smile, and of course, her famous hugs, make the warm Proctor booths even cozier.
Katie Futterman '24 (she/her) is a Managing Editor.
Katie previously served as a News Editor and Staff Writer. This past summer, she was a news intern at Seven Days, and she held the same position at the Addison Independent the prior summer. In her free time, she loves to read, write, and bask in the sun.
