“I’m not afraid to make mistakes, but I try not to make them twice.”

Chua

Director of Operations
Chartwells Higher Education

Texas State University-San Marcos

1997 – Dishwasher
1999 – Food Unit Leader
2000 – Assistant Dining Hall Manager
2001 – Food Court Manager
2002 – Retail Director
2005 to present – Director of Operations

I have been with Compass Group for 14 years.

I started as a dishwasher while attending the University of Arkansas as an international student. When I came to the USA, I did not speak English. I was born and raised in Malaysia so I spoke both Malay Language and Chinese. It was very hard to get a job in the States and the dish room was a place to start.

After years of hard work, I got promoted to food unit leader, and in 2000, I joined the dining management team. After two years, I was given the chance to leave Arkansas for a retail director position in Florida. I always wanted to experience what other units in another part of the country were doing, so I took advantage of the opportunity before me. Being in Florida had its challenges. Each year, we prepared for hurricanes to hit. In particular, I remember Francine and Wilma. Four hours after the eye passed through, our team had to be on site and ready to provide food with no gas or hot water, yet still following QA and safety protocols. We had to feed the students who had nowhere else to go. In a way, we were the “emergency crew” - no one else was around.

What’s helped me most in building my career is the people I work with, their passion for food and determination to succeed. I learned from others and by trial and error. I’m not afraid to make mistakes, but I try not to make the same mistake twice.

At Compass, you have resources available everywhere, so don’t be afraid to ask someone for guidance. I’m very self motivated, but I’ve also had great role models, like my current mentor Leslie Bulkley. In Arkansas, Tim Weatherly hired me as a manager and gave me insight to campus foodservice operations. The trust and confidence given to me by my management team has been invaluable.

What started as a life necessity became my career path!