Waking up in the morning can be a chore. The bed is too warm, the sun is too bright and the breakfast is not the best. However, there is one person that makes the morning a little less grueling: Tammy Ryan of Dickinson Community’s dining hall.

‘Dickinson’s dining hall might not be as nice as all the other dining halls, but since Tammy is there she makes it extra special,’ said freshman John Jozkowski. ‘She’s so nice to everyone and she always asks how you are, wishes you a nice day and just brightens up your whole morning.’

For students new to Binghamton University, Ryan’s early-morning warmth and politeness eases homesickness, making school feel a little more like home.

‘It breaks my heart to see the freshmen looking so scared when they first get here,’ Ryan said.

One freshman, Marva Forsyth, enjoys Ryan’s positive attitude.

‘She’s really nice, [she] has, like, witty banter with you, then she says ‘have a nice day’ and smiles. It’s really cool,’ said Forsyth, a political science major.

Because of her trademark pleasant demeanor, this local celebrity even has her own Facebook group titled ‘I Heart Tammy From Dickinson Dining Hall,’ with 159 members.

Born and, for the most part, raised right here in Binghamton, Ryan went to BU’s neighboring school Broome County Community College. Ryan still lives in Binghamton with her sister, having bought the house her parents owned after they passed away.

Her first job was in the field of social services. She also worked in the Broome Developmental Center while she was in college.

On Ryan’s downtime she enjoys reading and listening to music.

‘I’m pretty eclectic. I like rock, I like classical and a lot of different things. I like softer modern rock, but I used to be into stuff like Def Leppard,’ Ryan said about her taste in music.

For Ryan, working with young adults is reason enough to be cheerful throughout the day.

‘I love the students here,’ she said when asked about what she likes most about her job.

BU’s diversity is also something she likes about working here.

‘The more people you meet, the more you realize we’re all pretty much the same. Even though our cultures are so different, we all want the same things out of life. It’s nice. The more you see it, the more appreciative you should be.’

She sees all the students that walk through the doors of Dickinson’s dining hall as her very own children. Since she has been working in the dining hall for 15 years, she has also grown quite close to her coworkers and has come to see them as her family. Naturally, the dining hall has become a comfortable place to work and it is easy for her to feel happy and share that positive energy with the people she encounters.

Ryan believes that the key to her constant upbeat attitude is that whenever she feels a bit down or wakes up in a bad mood, she tries to give off as much positive energy as possible. She believes this philosophy can eventually change the way you feel. Advice like Ryan’s can be used by everybody and helps make BU a more inviting place.