When I was a first-year student, there were so many new food options to try on campus. One I can remember going to get every single week without fail was the mac and cheese at Marycrest on Mondays, or as most called it “mac & cheese Mondays.”
When my editor asked me to choose a time and place to photograph on campus for the magazine's recurring feature "Flyer Time" featuring a student experience, I immediately thought that this meal would be a perfect fit. I distinctly remember my roommate and I hiking up the hill from Founders to Marycrest to have a dinner of noodles, cheese and whatever else we could want in it. I always went for the jalapeños.
Taking this photo for the magazine, I ran into a couple of challenges. This semester my Mondays start with class at 12:20 p.m. and end around 8 p.m., which doesn’t leave a lot of time to get up to Marycrest during either lunch or dinner. I ended up going there at 8 one night and then another time at 11 a.m. but the crowd that I remembered just wasn’t there.
I wanted to photograph both the dining staff serving and the students eating, so I made another plan and invited some friends to join me. We arrived at 11:45 a.m., and I got just the crowd I needed. It was everything I remembered, and the mac and cheese was just as good, too.
If you ever get the chance to experience a mac and cheese Monday at Marycrest, I urge you to do it. I can promise you won’t be disappointed.