Behind the Apron: Heidi Brousseau
“Get busy living or get busy dying.” Dining Services Manager of Wetherell Heidi Brousseau follows her favorite quote from “Shawshank Redemption” to a T. Both inside and outside of Exeter, she always keeps herself moving, serving around 1200 students, faculty and staff members a day as well as supervising all of the staff in the dining hall. Despite her busy schedule, after 13 years at the Academy, Brousseau’s continuous work has never broke the grin on her face. She still expresses a strong love for her job and the people around her.
Her passion for dining services began at an early age. At the University of New Hampshire, Brousseau earned her Bachelor’s of Science degree in nutrition. Shortly after, she began working at a long-term care facility where she utilizied her leadership and nutrition skills and her caring personality to help others.
However, after working 70 hours a week at the job for over ten years, Brousseau wanted to find a change. At Exeter, she quickly realized she could still keep herself busy, but with a variety of different tasks and events that would prevent the place from seeming monotonous.
Now you can find Brousseau around campus at almost any time of the day. Whether she is monitoring the flow of traffic in and out of Wetherall or recounting stories to students of her most recent trip, she is always willing to stop for a second and greet a fellow Exonian kindly.
Dining services staff member Catherine Holmes further described this part of Brousseau’s pleasant personality.
“She’s a hundred percent genuine and caring at all times,” Holmes said. “I’ve been working with her for over ten years now, and I have never seen her lose her cool over anything. She’s just nice to work with and really a wonderful person.”
Like Holmes, fellow dining services staff member Caroline Welch described the warm care Brousseau extends toward others. According to Welch, Brousseau is not only kind to the people around campus, but she is also willing to help them out. Welch never feels like she is “working for Brousseau,” but instead with her.
“She can do pretty much anything in this building whether it is the kitchen, the bakery or tables,” Welch said. “As a result, when we are shorthanded, she will always kick in and take over someone’s space. Some managers, you hardly ever see them. But she is always there to help, answer questions and work with everybody.”
Other dining hall staff members also emphasized Brousseau’s talent with handling students. According to Lead Food Service staff member Rose Dotson, “she’s very cooperative and respectful toward the students.”
Brousseau tries hard to get along with her co-workers every day, always keeping the four agreements of Don Miguel in the back of her mind: be impeccable with your words, always do your best, don’t make assumptions and don’t take anything personal.
As a strong “people person,” Brousseau is also a great leader, especially with her staff members. Dotson said, “She is a boss. She does let us know the way things should be or if we’re not doing things the right way, but at the same time she is a very friendly boss.”
Outside of her role at the dining hall, Brousseau still lives a busy life. One of her biggest passions outside of Exeter is traveling. She has visited secret waterfalls in Maui, climbed Mount Katahdin in Maine—which is 48,000 feet high—and even explored several different towns in South Africa. Her love for traveling has truly brought her to many different parts of the world and highlighted her personality.
Indeed, it’s during talks about these trips when Brousseau’s charming charisma truly shines. When chatting with her, she always has her picture book ready, in case you wonder about the gorgeous sights she has seen or want tips for your own trip. Associate Director of Dining Services Melinda Leonard has had her day cheered up many times by Brousseau’s joyful stories.
“On her return from Africa she gave me a picture of a street vendor from Cape Town who wore this beautiful headdress,” Leonard said. “While appreciative of this token, I asked what the significance this photo held. Ms. Brousseau responded by saying, ‘How can you not love that smile, it’s full of life.’ That’s Ms. Brousseau, someone who enjoys living life and sharing that joy with others.”
When she’s not busy exploring the globe, Brousseau also takes joy in hobbies like hiking, traveling and playing volleyball. In fact, she now plays for the Biddeford Maine Women’s Volleyball League and recently won the league’s national tournament.
She has also developed a strong pride as a Patriots fan and has a curious interest for genealogy. Brousseau traced her family lineage back five generations, and even plans to take a trip next year to the Black Forest where a portion of her ancestors grew up.
While Brousseau’s life may appear to others as overburdened with work, it’s all of the different activities she keeps herself busy with that make her experiences so unique and exciting. Brousseau expressed the importance to her of staying active.
“It keeps you going,” she said. “If I didn’t have my commitment to volleyball every week and just stayed home and watched television, I don’t think my life would be as happy. Doing lots of things really keeps you sane and young.”
Sometimes Brousseau even wishes she could do more, but her most important advice is to “stay optimistic and do what keeps you happy.”
“If you have a good outlet, it’s good to just take one day at a time,” she said. “If you have too much homework, the next day might always be better.” If you talk to Brousseau, it will be clear to you she follows this advice everyday; she never feels the need to stop smiling or to take a break from her fun-packed life.