For many people, merely providing food for a small get-together of friends is a daunting challenge, so one can only imagine the task of overseeing the feeding of hundreds of people on a daily basis.

This is the job of Carol Combs, senior assistant director of dining services for divisional campuses at Potomac State College of West Virginia University.

Combs is responsible for attending to the nutritional needs of approximately 500 residential students on a daily basis, not to mention the faculty, staff and commuter students who also eat at Potomac Rapids and Potomac Commons, both new eateries at University Place, the residential complex which opened in fall 2007.

“Our challenge is to provide options that meet students' demands for comfort foods, provide new foods they may not previously have been exposed to, and prepare varieties that allow choices for a balanced diet without becoming boring,” said Combs.

In addition, Combs organizes the food service for all annual events and special occasions such as the Holiday Open House, Alumni Achievement Awards Banquet and the Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet.

Combs is very conscientious about details - she works closely with her staff in all areas from how the food tastes, to presentation, to what the servers wear.

“I really enjoy what I do and I love being at Potomac State; it's wonderful being part of WVU as they establish themselves as a leader in the college and university food service industry on a national level.”

Combs has worked at Potomac State for six years and says, “It was the atmosphere of the college that originally solidified my decision to come here.  As I visited Keyser in fall of 2001, I was struck by the beauty of the campus and the peacefulness of the surrounding area.

Combs also collaborates with Chef Thomas Vieli, instructor in hospitality and tourism, to provide students opportunities to practice what they learn in class by working in dining services or serving at special events.

Combs, who is from Virginia and attended school at Virginia Tech, worked in food service management at Tech for 10 years, managing six different facilities where she developed and operated new concepts for their dining program.

Prior to her work at Virginia Tech, Combs spent seven years at Krispy Kreme as a production manager.

“Strong organizational skills were essential to managing the production and shipping for Krispy Kreme's regional business. It taught me to pay attention to details in order to make all aspects of a system click seemingly effortlessly,” explains Combs.

“I feel that everything I've done up to the point of coming to Potomac State has been training for what I do now. Here I have the opportunity to practice all of the skills I've learned throughout my career and I feel that I'm able to make a difference at this institution. I'm very grateful for this opportunity and hope that the decisions I make have a positive impact on students, staff, and the general college community,” she added.