Carlos Sinde is no stranger to celebrity encounters.

The SPS graduate student has been working for the Todd English Food Hall at The Plaza Hotel as a part-time waiter for four years.

“Montel Williams, the famous talk show host, is a regular for our sushi, and Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, has invited our manager to a football game before,” Sinde said.

While these unique meetings are a regular and exciting part of Sinde’s job, they are just one aspect of working in the food industry.

Sinde, who is studying public relations and corporate communications, moved to New York in 2010 from Memphis, where he had been devoting himself to sports marketing and sales. Driven by the motivation of living in the biggest city in the United States, Sinde chose to start a new life in New York.

Securing a job in New York was not an easy task. After six months of searching, Sinde’s close friend recommended he try The Plaza Hotel. Though The Plaza provides him with an income, he does not want to work in the food industry forever.

“The Plaza is a union hotel, so we get higher pay than average waiters with both wages and tips, but, it is still just for survival,“ Sinde said. “I miss working in an office, so I applied for this Master’s program to prepare myself, and use the money I earn at The Plaza Hotel to sponsor this.”

This is the second semester of Sinde’s studies at NYU, and he currently works four days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Though his schedule is busy, he still appreciates that his job allows him both the flexibility and economic means to improve his life. Sinde said he enjoys the variety of people his job allows him to meet.

“You never know who you are going to meet,” Sinde said. ”I love to deal with tours and get to know the stories of people from different places like the Midwest and Brazil, as well as New Yorkers. Sometimes, you might also have a chance to talk with elites, like the celebrities I mentioned before.”

Working at The Plaza has taught Sinde useful people skills, as he has to work with a variety of customers.

“The job also requires us to get a very good sense about different people,” Sinde said. “They might be picky or nice, rushed or leisurely. You have to [be able to] tell that and serve them in the way they want.”

After graduation, Sinde hopes to work in the sports industry.

A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Nov. 4th print edition. Email Lingyi Hou at [email protected].