The Observer, February 25, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 19
"Bag-It lady" packs lunch with a smile
Stephanie Pinson's workday begins at Sears Library at 9 a.m. When she leaves Case seven hours later, her day is far from over. At 6 p.m. she's working again, this time at Kim's Wings, where she will remain until at least midnight. The next morning she's back at Case, her warm smile masking the stress of a 13-hour workday.
Among students, Pinson is one of Case's most popular employees, although few know her full name. To most, she is simply "the Bag-It lady."
Pinson, 42, works swiping cards at Grab-It in Sears. She has been there for the last two years, but she has worked at Case for much longer; Feb. 4 marked her ninth year working on campus. She started off serving in Fribley, but immediately moved to being the night checker there. Later she worked at the C-Store, which no longer exists.
Over the course of her employment at Case, Pinson says she has met and gotten to know many students. "I've seen 'em come and seen 'em go," Pinson said. "They graduate, become big successes."
She still keeps in touch with some of those students. "They call me during the summer holidays," Pinson said. "Before they leave, they ask for my phone number. They give me theirs."
It's hardly surprising that students want to stay in touch with Pinson, who is known for smiling at every student and asking them how their day has been.
"She doesn't get the class time to make people like her like teachers do. She has about 15 seconds to make your day and she does every time I go there," senior Ryan Banas said. "I bet she contributes to the sanity of at least 45 percent of Case students each year."
Banas said that he thinks Pinson deserves a raise because of how she positively affects students. Pinson currently makes $8.80 per hour.
Sophomore Chris Hill agreed. "When I'm feeling down and I talk to her in the day, she gives me confidence and the feeling everything is going to be all right," Hill said.
But Pinson does not just make students' lives better; students have a similar effect on her. "I have a good day when I see my students," she said. "When I have a bad day I get a smile from one of the students and I feel a whole lot better."
Pinson says that if she comes in feeling down, someone offers a smile and says, "Hey, Stephanie, how are you?" She says she smiles back and is in a better mood.
At Grab-It, Pinson spends the lunch rush hour talking to students and swiping cards in a hot room. She stands behind her machine (recently a chair was added, but she rarely uses it) and opens up paper bags for her students, always telling them not to forget to grab cookies. She cannot let one of her students leave without dessert.
Despite caring for all the students, whom she calls "the children," Pinson is open to the possibility of a new job, as long as it is close to home. She says the reason she came back to Case this year after spending the summer at another job was for the students. She promised them that she would be back. She cares for them and could not let them down.
Pinson's cheerful attitude carries over to her second job at Kim's Wings, a small takeout restaurant on St. Clair. From 6 p.m. to close, Pinson works behind the window, taking orders, making change, and doling out food. During slow times, she folds boxes for the meals to come in. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, though, the restaurant is always busy and Pinson doesn't get off work until 2 a.m.
Pinson says she works two jobs because she needs a way to spend her time. "It's just something for me to do," she said. "I have to stay busy."
She also has a house, a well-kept Chevy Cavalier, and a family to take care of.
Pinson lives with her daughter Tiffani, 24, and Tiffani's daughter Destiny, 2. Pinson's son Devante Anderson, 8, had been living with his father, who is retired from General Electric, but he recently moved back in with his mother.
Pinson's work schedule does not allow her a lot of time to spend with Devante. Until he moved back in, she only saw him one day a week. Devante is in third grade and struggles some in school because he is the class clown. Sometimes, he puts in more time joking around than doing class work. "[He's a] whiz kid, meaning he gets into everything," Pinson said.
"We go to church on Sunday," Pinson said. "Then we might go to the movies. And Devante likes to play games." Church is important to Pinson, as anyone could tell just by listening to her voicemail, which ends with "And God bless you." And you can tell she means it. She says that God is the most important part of her life.
Family is also important to Pinson. Her daughter, Tiffani is a familiar face to students on campus as well. She works at Leutner. She said her mom helped her get the job back when she was 16.
Tiffani said that even though her mom is a busy woman she cares for her family. "All the time she works and she still find time to be a good mom to me and my little brother," Tiffani said.
She added that the person students see at Grab-It is the same one that she sees at home. "She's a loving parent and she's just they way y'all know her – happy and joyful," Tiffani said.
Some people are not as happy at work as they are at home, but not Pinson. She says she just enjoys the experience.
She did not always have a job she enjoyed. When she was younger she got some education in police and security work, but decided that it was not for her. She wanted to be a dispatcher but found out that she would have to spend her rookie year working the streets, which she did not want to do.
She said she also went to the Wooster Business School for word-processing so she could type without looking at the keys. She took a job at In & Out Cash and Carry doing word processing and accounting.
Pinson's next job was here at Case, and she was happy with this one. While she enjoys working at Grab-It and the interaction with the kids, she said it does get boring at times.
Pinson said she does not really feel she has a lot of worries in life, though both her grandmothers recently passed away. Sometimes she worries about her son's education, but generally she sees herself as living a normal life with normal worries.
"I'm just the average person who loves to come to work and take care of her children," Pinson said.
But average is a word rarely used by students to describe "the Bag-It lady." Great and awesome are much more popular choices.
