Photography by Winnie Wong
Harpreet Sandhu is the store manager of The Stand Central (a cafe and convenience store run by the BCIT Student Association in building SE2). She was the store manager of Pavilion (NE1) for five years, and before that, she ran The Stand North (which closed when Pavilion was launched). She has worked for the BCIT Student Association for over seventeen years and started her career by working full-time as a Customer Service Representative.
We spoke with Harpreet recently to delve into the vital role she plays within the BCIT Student Association. Harpreet’s insights provide a unique glimpse into the dedication required to maintain a student-centric focus and create a positive impact within the BCIT community.
Supporting Students Behind the Scenes
It’s the little things that truly make the difference. When students came to the doors (at Pavilion or Stand North before the 6:30 am opening time, her and her team would do their best to welcome them in early and serve them coffee, sometimes as early as 6:00 am. Serving coffee isn’t where her support stops, though. “As a manager, I have to stay on top of everything. If the baker called, [and] didn’t show up in the morning, I [would] step in and then bake for students. Right? If the cook is not coming, we don’t have a sandwich. I try to reach out to my other vendors so we have enough food in the store to help the customers.” She added “that she does a little bit of everything behind the scenes as she “prioritizes students’ well-being and satisfaction.”
Harpreet is dedicated to “enhancing students’ [lives.] That’s our mission we start a day with and go home with.” She takes her job very seriously and is prepared to enrich students’ lives on their busy days. Whether staff call in sick or shelves need to be restocked, Harpreet said that she has “to be prepared in any situation. So it doesn’t matter what happens. The show must go on, right?”
“We try to serve our best unless something happens. [That’s] a different story, but [our] priority is always the students.”
Memorable Experiences
Harpreet said there were too many to pick one. She described her everyday work as “creating [new] memories.”
“It’s very pleasant working with the students because sometimes students come [to BCIT] for a short period. We build a relationship as a family, and then after a couple of years, they come back again. When they recognize you by your name, it’s kind of a very loving and memorable thing for me, [like] when they say, ‘Oh Harpreet, you’re still here!’ I appreciate all those moments when I started working here, serving students, and then I respect them. And they respect me.”
Pavilion & The Stand
Pavilion is a joint partnership between the BCIT Student Association and BCIT, and the Student Association managed it from May 2019 to January 2024. As of January 2024, it is being managed by Chartwells, the company on campus that runs Starbucks, Tim Hortons, and various other establishments. Harpreet said it’s too early to say if there will be any changes at Pavilion as “they might need some time to settle.”
“It doesn’t matter which one [services students use]. In the end, we are here to provide the best service to students [and] as long as students are happy, we are happy.”*
Since then, Harpreet has been working at Stand Central (the Great Hall, SE2). She picked up new responsibilities, such as managing the new Geared up at NE1 while continuing to manage Stand Central. Even with more responsibilities, she is looking forward to the challenge, and to being able to keep working in NE1. The stores there meant a lot to her.
“It’s kind of emotional to me because [Pavilion was] kind of my dream store when I was working in The Stand North…It was emotional for me to leave that building because I felt like spending ten years in that building, I built relationships with some faculty and students.”
Harpreet’s Goals
Harpreet aims to provide the best service to help ease student’s stress even a little bit. She said it’s not a work of magic. Rather, it is both her and the Student Association’s aim and diligence to help improve the lives of BCIT students.
“There is no magic behind a person. It’s not like [I have] magic [I] can do… I’m here to provide the best service [and] best quality food to students. And I feel like students’ lives are so busy and so stressful. If [we can do] anything to make their life a little bit easier [by giving] them a little happiness, a cozy place to have a cup of coffee or enjoy their food, that’s the best we can do, right? This is my aim [and] the Student Association’s aim too.”
