Aliza McHugh

One of the most important leadership experiences I had at Berkeley Hillel happened in the kitchen.

I was the kitchen manager, and I loved it.

At first, I don't think I understood just how much responsibility I was being given. I had a whole job managing the kitchen. I was getting paid for it, I was contributing something real to the community, and people were trusting me to make things happen.

That felt incredible.

There's something powerful about being given actual responsibility when you're in college. You're still figuring out who you are and what your place is in the world, and suddenly someone is saying, essentially, “Here. This is yours. Take care of it.”

I got to run the kitchen.

And by my senior year, I had about six other people working with me. They were interns, and I was their manager.

We became really close.

It was a very familial environment. We worked together, we cooked together, we figured things out together, and over time we became really good friends.

But I was also learning how to actually manage people.

I was learning how to plan events. I learned how to make a menu and figure out what needed to happen when. I learned time management and how to make sure that everything was ready when it needed to be.

And, of course, I learned what happens when it isn't.

I learned how to delegate.

I learned how to give people responsibility and work alongside them.

I learned how to manage a team without losing the sense that we were all part of the same community.

Those are skills I use today.

I now work in environmental justice and food systems. A lot of my work involves supporting farmers in accessing institutional markets, including farm-to-school programs. I also do operations, fundraising, development, and events.

When I look at what I do now, I can see how much of it traces back to that kitchen.

Planning a fundraising event isn't exactly the same as planning a meal at Hillel, but the underlying skills are surprisingly similar. You have to think through logistics. You have to plan ahead. You have to manage time. You have to make sure the right people are doing the right things. You have to anticipate what could go wrong.

And you have to feed people.

But the biggest thing Hillel gave me wasn't any particular technical skill.

It was the experience of being trusted.

I was a college student, and I had real authority.

I had a real job. I had people working for me. I had a budget and responsibilities. I had the opportunity to make decisions and see the results.

And I got paid for it.

I was contributing to my community while also learning how to lead.

I honestly don't know that I would have had that kind of opportunity anywhere else.

Looking back, I realize how unusual it was.

Hillel wasn't necessarily presenting it to me as “career development” or “leadership training.” Nobody was standing over me saying, “Today we're going to teach you management skills.”

I was just running the kitchen.

But that's what was happening.

I was becoming a manager. I was learning how to lead. I was building skills that I would eventually use in my career.

And I was doing it in a place where I cared about the people around me.

That's what made it so meaningful.

The kitchen wasn't just where we prepared food.

It was where I learned that I could be trusted with something important.