john brasington - University of South Carolina Dining Services

JOHN BRASINGTON
Devoted Father, Husband, and Grandfather.
Operations Manager of Central Campus Dining. Sitting down and talking with me about
the things that make him tick.
“WE ARE SODEXO EMPLOYEES, BUT I CONSIDER MYSELF AS MUCH A PART OF CAROLINA AS I DO SODEXO…WE ARE A PART OF THE GAMECOCK NATION!”
John Brasington has been in the food industry for almost 30 years! His
heart bleeds garnet and black because he received his graduate degree at
USC.
You can see John hustling and bustling at the Russell House, where he
oversees operations in 11 restaurants on campus. One of his main jobs is
to oversee the operators at these locations, but you could see him behind the fryers at Chick-Fil-A. He prides himself on “providing quality
service and product that appeals to the University [as well as] to Sodexo.”
John is super proud of what his employees did during the flood. Everyone
pulled together and fed thousands of students, despite not having water!
He also wants to give a shout out to all of the students that were on
campus too: “It is really rewarding when you have things happen like the
flood crisis of this past week… [and] to see how the students will recognize and appreciate what you do and go out of their way to let you know.
I think that’s really gratifying. To see the campus pull together when there
have been great challenges facing it, and how the campus celebrates successes that happen… it’s a lot of fun to be in that atmosphere!”
“We are Sodexo employees, but I consider myself as much a part of Carolina as I do Sodexo…we are a part of the Gamecock Nation!”
Author and Photographer:
Jackie James
A little something you might not know about John is that he has a master’s from USC in “Technical Design for the Theater.” He did some acting work on the side after graduate school for about 3 years, where he met his wife (who he has
been married to for 32 years!) He became a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and remains a member to this
day! He has had roles on both TV and film, including the Steven King film Maximum Overdrive, and the film Chattahoochee.
To this day he still get small royalty checks from them!
John Brasington is a family man through-and-through. When talking about his wife, 2 kids, and 1 grandchild, his whole face
lights up. It was sweet to see how much he cares about them. He claims that his biggest accomplishment is raising his 2
children to be generous and non conformists. When his kids were growing up, he would make sure they know to “do the
best and worry about the things you have control over.” He made sure they knew that he doesn't dwell on the things that
he can’t control and impact.
In his spare time, John likes to garden and spend time with his family at his house on Lake Murray. He is also a carpenter!
When he bought his childhood home from his mother, he decided to update everything in it, and built a lot of it “out of
scratch!” John attributes much of his success to his mother’s example growing up.
“My mother is the daughter of a share cropper in Iowa, and grew
up on a farm with dirt roads and horse-drawn carriages,” teaching
him how to make things work when a task looks daunting.
When asked what advice he would give students, he gave it some
thought before saying “take what [you’re] doing now very seriously. Too many times I see [the students] sweating the small stuff...
and when [you’re] done with these 4 years, what [you] have done
in the classroom and at the University has a huge impact on your
success and what you do. Take advantage of this time to get to
know who you are.”
Very sound advice, John! We thank you for all that you do, and
wish you luck for the future!
ADVICE TO STUDENTS: “TAKE WHAT [YOU’RE] DOING
NOW VERY SERIOUSLY. TOO MANY TIMES I SEE THEM
SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF... AND WHEN [YOU’RE]
DONE WITH THESE 4 YEARS, WHAT [YOU] HAVE DONE IN
THE CLASSROOM AND AT THE UNIVERSITY HAS A HUGE
IMPACT ON YOUR SUCCESS AND WHAT YOU DO. TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF THIS TIME TO GET TO KNOW WHO YOU
ARE.”