Friendship with a side of fries

Long road leads Carla Yost, a cancer survivor, to Waynesburg's Beehive

For many Waynesburg University students, the Beehive is the place to go for a quick meal. Immediately after stepping in line to give their order, students are greeted by an ensemble of friendly faces wearing the customary Aladdin Dining Services baseball hats and aprons. One of those faces is that of Carla Yost, a woman who, many times, can match a student’s face to his or her regular order. 

For Yost, her job at Waynesburg is like a dream come true. 

“I just really like working with food [and] students,” said Yost. “I love being the ‘mommy-type.’

Yost’s journey to Waynesburg University was rife with challenges. She is five-years free of kidney cancer, but also struggles with Lymes disease. At the time of her initial cancer diagnosis, she was working at Rolling Meadows Nursing Home.

Yost had always wanted to be a part of the Waynesburg University family. However, achieving her current position—which she has held for three years now—wasn’t easy. 

“I’ve always applied [at Waynesburg], but I never could get on and finally, I [saw] they were hiring and there were [around] 15 people they had lost at the café, so naturally they were looking to hire 15 new ones,” said Yost.  

Working with the same foods every day, though, has its fair share of joys and drawbacks. Yost enjoys “slicing tomatoes, of all things” but has found more of a struggle of campus. 

“When I walk into Walmart, the smell of the Subway’s bread, it nauseates me instantly,” said Yost. 

Yost is very much a people person. She loves to get to know the students who come through the Beehive line every day. 

“Seeing the people is one of my favorite parts of the day,” said Yost. “It seems like you can really become friends, you really get to know a lot of students and the other workers.”

Yost is always shocked to see their talents such as athletes at sporting events. Her husband works as a security guard for many of the sporting events on campus, so Yost sees the students she serves food to each day competing.  

When it comes to entertainment, Yost prefers to listen to music, put together puzzles and read books. She is self-proclaimed as “anti-television” which includes not watching Netflix, though her co-worker constantly encourages her to watch Golden Girls. 

Taking pride in her work and emphasizing cleanliness and safety are values that Yost holds dear. 

Students won’t be seeing Yost at the Beehive for much longer, as she will be changing positions next week. After that, students will be able to see her working in the cafeteria at the register, doing what she loves most: interacting with people.