Written by Elumba Cathyvonne Ebenja
A local Aramark employee has become a positive influence to a number of students by encouraging them to attend Sunday morning church services.
Cafeteria worker Tommy Johnson has befriended quite a few students during her eight years at the university. Her job allows her to meet and communicate often with students. She has now, however, become a recruit for Christ as she influences students to attend church with her during Sunday morning worship service as well as Wednesday night Bible classes.
Johnson lives in Beebe but attends Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Bald Knob. She has added quite a few members to her congregation from meeting students at work in the cafeteria and student center.
Johnson, mother of two, says she enjoys her job working the grill in the cafeteria. She said she has worked in the cafeteria for years and has met so many students. She has watched them come and go, and even shed tears with some as they graduate and leave the university, she said.
Primarily, Johnson said she used to work in the kitchen at the Chick-Fil-A in the student center. She said she was comfortable working in the back because she wasn’t a people person. However, after her manager left, Johnson took the front position as manager and began meeting all of the students.
“I would just smile and be friendly,” Johnson said.
Her smile encouraged students to approach her. Lastyear, Johnson met Jasper Bodiford, a football player who was looking for an on-campus job. Johnson helped him find employment at Chick-Fil-A. From that point on, Johnson said she and Bodiford developed a mother-son relationship. Since then, she has been known to Bodiford and many of his friends as “Mama Tommy.”
Johnson introduced and invited Bodiford and friends to church one Sunday. After they attended the first service, they continued coming back. It has now become an every Sunday event as the students have all but placed their membership at the congregation.
“She is an amazing lady,” football player Eddie Russ said.
Russ is one of Bodiford’s friends who also attends church with Johnson every Sunday. He speaks highly of her and said he thinks of her as a mother figure while he is at Harding. Russ says Johnson calls often to pray with the boys and offers a helping hand to them in anyway possible.
Aside from Russ, there are a number of other students who accompany Johnson to church on Sunday mornings. Bodiford, Roger Hurst, Teron Shephard, Xavier Woods and Jasmine Pickens can be found worshiping at the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Bald Knob.
“I am a God-fearing woman, trying to make it in the world,” Johnson said.
Habitat for Humanity has just recently built a new home for Johnson. She plans to move in soon. She said she loves her job and plans to continue working at Harding for a while, meeting more students and perhaps taking them to church also.
“God is always first,” Johnson said. “God keeps me motivated.”
