Ward Parker Jr.: Unwrapped
Ward is a wonderful person who serves students with cheer, improving anyone and everyone's day that enters the Asada line!
Photo courtesy of Ward Parker Jr.
If you are a frequent flyer at the Asada Station in Mary Jemison dining hall like this member of The Lamron, then you may know Ward Parker Jr., an employee of Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS). Ward is a SUNY Geneseo alum who, after living an interesting life, came out of retirement to work in one of the college’s dining halls—though he first started at the dining hall in the MacVittie College Union, not at Mary Jemison.
Ward is from New York City and began his college career in 1975 at SUNY Geneseo, back when the legal drinking age was 18 and “[t]here must have been 10 bars on Main Street.” Ward studied and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, but his path to his degree was not a linear one. In his own words: “I stayed at school for 3 years but left to go to California to pursue a career in music. It turned into a hard road to follow. I became the cliché about starving artists.” Following his passion for music, Ward did not return to SUNY Geneseo until 2000 to finish his degree.
Ward set out for California intending to become a full-time musician, but instead, he found himself at the precipice of what became 16 years spent in filmmaking. Ward’s film career began at Associated Television International (ATI), “an Emmy-winning, worldwide media company,” where he worked on a television show called “Travel Tips.” His job at ATI opened doors that allowed Ward to then move onto motion pictures. Recollecting his time in filmmaking, Ward said it was when he “was working in San Diego on a television series called Renegade when [he] decided to finish [his] degree.”
After 16 years spent working on various projects within his career in filmmaking, Ward finished his degree and then returned to NYC. There, he pursued and accepted the position of project manager for an audio visual (AV) company located in Manhattan. Ward claims, it “was an interesting job as I worked on many projects that I would never have the opportunity to work on otherwise.” Some of these projects, Ward mentioned, include Ellis Island; the Intrepid Museum; the Statue of Liberty; the Federal Reserve Bank, in both New York and Philadelphia; and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Never a man to sit still, Ward eventually left his position as project manager to take over and run a BBQ business: Mo Gridders. Mo Gridders was a food truck based in the Bronx, was featured in The New York Times, and visited by Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (DDD). The episode aired in 2007, and upon Mo Gridders closing their doors (or technically their windows), DDD’s website was updated in 2025 to say: “While it’s now sadly closed, the legacy of this spot lives on in the hearts (and stomachs) of its fans.” On taking over Mo Gridders, Ward said, “Having my own business was both rewarding and taxing at the same time.”
Ward still plays the guitar and writes music—and even once played guitar for Buzzo, of Buzzo Music on Main Street—but has since settled in Geneseo. After retiring for good a little over 10 years ago (or so he believed), Ward decided “to come back to Geneseo, a place [he] knew well with many friends [he’d] made over the years.” Yet, retirement did not last long for Ward, as he found himself bored six months in. Ward left retirement to work for Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS) at SUNY Geneseo, where he currently works today, and has recently received a certificate for achieving 10 years of service.
Ward noted that the campus and the town have changed considerably since his time as a student, but many things are still unchanged, with Ward saying, “I’m constantly surprised at how much things remain the same as when I was here.” Geneseo’s alluring charm, that caused a NYC-born resident to settle down, in his words is “the small town atmosphere.” Ward mentioned, “I like knowing the people here and them knowing me.”
Something that never changes regardless of the day, however, is Ward’s demeanor. He wraps burritos with unmatched skill and a smile on his face, surrounded by colleagues he believes are “[v]ery nice, hardworking people.” He names his favorite part about working at Mary Jemison as “talking with the students.” Since Ward is an alum, it “gives [him] something in common with the student body, a shared experience.” For many, Ward is a pitstop at the Asada Station on their way to or from class, but the person behind the glass is infinitely more important than a well-made lunch. What Ward wishes the students he wraps burritos for knew is this: “I sincerely wish them all well and have great success and happiness in their future.”