Milton Works
            Because We Do
Interviews and Photographs by Sara Pulit, Mai Ann Healy, and Siobhan Atkins

Dee Rizzitano
Flik Food Services

When I started in 1993 I was over in Goodwin with the boys, I did dinner and worked nights over there. I did that for six, seven years until my family started getting married and moving away. And I wanted to spend more time with my husband. So when there was an opening over here for lunchtime, I applied for the job and got it. I think it was about five years ago. I come in here about 7, sometimes 8 o’clock in the morning, depending on how busy we are, and I set up all three salad bars, get all the stuff ready. I’m usually done with that by 10:30 or 10:45, so I take a ten or fifteen minute break until I start my line for lunch where I am until 1:30.

I have five children, all married, and thirteen grandchildren. My oldest granddaughter just graduated yesterday. She’s twenty-two and she’s going to be a nurse and she already has a job in the OR so she’s all set. That’s really it. I mean, we’re a happy family and we’re all local, thank God, so we get to see a lot of each other, which I love. And my grandmother, she had twelve children so I have a lot of a lot of aunts and uncles! I absolutely love family reunions. I have a pool so I love it when all the grandchildren come over and play while the adults talk. It’s really quite lovely. I’m looking forward to this summer already. I like having the kids over at my house. But my children, they have a bigger house, which is good so they do holidays while I’ll do the summertime cookouts. I’m really fortunate; I’m really lucky with my wonderful family. Plus, I have a range of grandchildren. The oldest is twenty-two while the youngest one is five months. I mean, they’re not like all doctors or lawyers but they’re great kids, they love their kids, hold good jobs, and are great members of the family – I couldn’t be prouder.

I really enjoy kids. When I was working over in Goodwin I had a good time with the boys, they were all really well mannered boys. And I felt like part of the family, especially with the seniors who played football because they would always come home late – and thus miss dinner – so I would make up their plates (I knew what each of them liked), put them in the oven, and kept their meals warm and ready for them. And they really appreciated that. It really felt like a family over there. Even with the faculty, we all had a good time and got along great. It was an awesome experience.