As Patrick Reed dawned his green jacket for the first time, Alex Conlon and Kayla Mosley were busy helping to run two restaurants at the Masters.
Conlon, senior in hospitality management, worked as a server at Berckmans Place. He has worked at Berckmans Place all three years he has worked at the tournament, his first year as a busser and the following two years as a server.
Mosley, senior in hospitality management, was a hostess at the Press House. The 2018 Masters was the first year for the Press House after it was erected in one year to give members of the media an air-conditioned building to complete their work and enjoy their meals.
“I mean it’s incredible," Mosley said. "The interview room is in this building and they have a giant arena with a cubicle for every member of the press and there’s a restaurant in there."
Conlon and Mosley along with 21 other Auburn students arrived in Augusta, Georgia, a full week before the first round of the tournament.
That Thursday, all of the student workers went through an orientation and toured the course. Then the students went through in-depth training about the restaurant they would work.
Berckmans Place is a VIP restaurant at the Masters and requires an additional ticket to the tournament ticket to enter.
“So those who came Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty much gifted those tickets by like their companies,” Conlon said. “So they were all really amped to be there, so it’s a nice ease into the whole week. Thursday starts the actual tournament, and that's when the real head-honchos – serious business folk come in so you have to up your game.”
For Conlon, it was a lot like a typical serving job, except he never had to worry about payment. Those who ate in Berkman’s Place had the price of food included in their ticket.
As for Mosley, she went through the same type of training at the Press House. Both of the student's restaurants where they worked were open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack.
“Averaging about 13 hours a day,” Conlon said. “So you're just on your feet constantly, running back and forth from the kitchen to your tables, running drinks and taking orders.”
They did get several breaks throughout the long days. The restaurants also closed briefly in between each meal so the staff could prepare for the next meal.
“We would have to be there at 5 a.m.,” Mosley said. “Most days we were off before 5 - 6 p.m.-ish, but on the last day I worked from 5 a.m. to about 10 p.m. so it was rough, I totaled [it and] I want to say 123 hours for the week.”
Sports figures and celebrities alike lined the fairway and filled the restaurants where Conlon and Mosley worked.
“We were able to see them,” Conlon said. “Lynn Swann, who’s a hall of famer, we’d like stretch in the mornings and he would sometimes come out and stretch with us.”
Though Mosley worked in the Press House, a building meant for the reporters covering the Masters, she met some well-known attendees including Former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Conlon and Mosley both have jobs lined up after they graduate at the beginning of May. Conlon will work for Marriott International as a part of their one-year management training, voyage program.
“I’ll be supervising housekeeping for like six months,” Conlon said. “Then I’ll be doing something else for six months, but you get to see like the different sides of the hotel and from a management standpoint to shadow the managers.”
Both of Conlon’s parents worked for Marriott throughout the span of his life. He said he hopes to continue working with Marriott after the voyage program.
Mosley has an internship at Yankee Stadium, and while she is unsure for now what she will do after her summer internship ends, she does know she wants to be in sports hospitality or the wine industry.
For Conlon, working at the Masters lost some of its “wow factor” when he returned for his third year. But said the best part of every year was all of the people he met and kept connections with after he leaves Augusta, Georgia.
“All these people that I’ve meet are doing all of these incredible things, and it’s just cool I have friends in all these different places,” Conlon said.
Mosley agreed working at the Masters for the past two years has been one of the most rewarding experiences she has had at all her time at Auburn.
“It's amazing, I would really recommend it to future students,” Mosley said. “Some people are kinda intimidated by how many hours we say we have to work and how exhausted we are. And you will be exhausted…But it’s so worth it and it's really worth it to put it on your resume.”
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
