By Seth Jones | Reporter
When a student or faculty member at Baylor University goes to lunch at Memorial Hall’s dining hall, named “1845 at Memorial dining hall,” he or she has many options of what to eat, whether that’s salad, pizza or something sweeter. Out of all of these options, one of the sweetest is Mei Lan Tam’s, more commonly known as Ms. Mei’s, cookie station.
Many of the dining hall’s regular visitors are familiar with Lan Tam and make sure they never miss out on her cookies or her even sweeter smile.
One of these regulars is Garland freshman Michael Isenberg who said he loves to see Lan Tam’s when he visits the dining hall and thinks it’s great that she engages with students.
“It’s just so sweet to see how caring she is about each and every student at Baylor and how she’s always smiling and always so positive,” Isenberg said.
Lan Tam said she feels very grateful for all of the students showing her support and said she is thankful for the students who come in and see her.
“[The students and faculty members] make me happy. Every day they come in, they look at me as not their servant. They look at me more like their friend,” Lan Tam said.
Lan Tam’s efforts definitely haven’t gone unnoticed this semester. Isenberg and some of his friends made shirts in honor of Lan Tam.
“Me and two of my friends were talking about Ms. Mei … and we said ‘We should make shirts that are Ms. Mei–themed,’ so we did,” Isenberg said.
The shirts Isenberg and his friends are selling read “Ms. Mei is bae,” on the front, and on the back is a large cookie with her face on it with text under it that reads “Be careful. They hot.”
Isenberg’s effort was not the only attempt to recognize Lan Tam’s kindness and hard work. The Kappa Alpha Order presented Lan Tam with an “outstanding faculty award” for her dedication to making students’ days better with her cookies as well as her positive attitude.
Kim Garcia, a supervisor at the 1845 at Memorial dining hall, said she is not surprised at all that Lan Tam received an award for her work, because she always does everything she can to make sure students have a great day.
“She’s just above and beyond any other employee here,” Garcia said. “[Ms. Mei’s job] is not something she needs to do or has to do; she comes every day for the kids.”
Lan Tam said she doesn’t view her kindness as a service, but she sees it as a way of giving back to the students who bring her so much joy.
“They make me feel better so I need to give back to them,” Lan Tam said.
Isenberg said he sees the impact Lan Tam has had on students as a lesson they can learn from.
“It’s crazy how much you can make an impact on people just by being positive and making cookies,” Isenberg said. “Being kind goes a long way, and you can really see that through Ms. Mei.”
