April 25, 2017
SHL Alumni Profile: Ian McMillan
Ian McMillan
At the age of 13 something struck a chord within me and I was bound and determined to be a chef. Thoughts go back to late nights of watching Food Network and the amazing things they could do. I started off my career at the age of 16 at a small town bakery and began exploring educational opportunities. My heart was bound and determined to go to Johnson & Whales University and that’s exactly what I did. After a few semesters I wanted a true college feel so I began exploring other institutions. East Carolina University seemed to have a solid program so I applied was accepted and off I went to be a Pirate!
While at ECU I started working for ARAMARK and have been with the company ever since graduating. I’ve been a supervisor of a convenience store and a catering kitchen. I started my career as a manager in Dallas, Texas and was whisked away to Las Vegas to be a Location Manager. From there I relocated back to Wake Forest University and had an amazing experience opening Einstein’s Brother’s Bagels (EBB) in the WFU School of Business. In addition to the EBB opening, I had the opportunity to assist in the opening of a new dining hall, a full service restaurant, and retail operations. From there I traveled across campus to assist in the operation of a food court complete with its own full service restaurant.
A siren was calling me and she called me back to ECU where I headed up the operations at the Galley for a year all while supporting other operations as well. Now I am the Location Manager of West End Dining Hall, one of the busiest locations on campus. My new opportunity will be co-managing the Freight Farms operation which will provide local lettuces and hopefully herbs and flowers to the ECU campus. It certainly has been a whirlwind of a time with Aramark but it wouldn’t have been possible without the expertise and support of the School of Hospitality Leadership at East Carolina University.