{"id":5167,"date":"2019-09-04T15:05:52","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T15:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loopchicagodev.wpenginepowered.com\/september-loop-employee-of-the-month-jerome-pickens\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T21:28:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T21:28:37","slug":"september-loop-employee-of-the-month-jerome-pickens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loopchicago.com\/es\/chicago-loop-blog\/september-loop-employee-of-the-month-jerome-pickens\/","title":{"rendered":"September Loop Employee of the Month: Jerome Pickens"},"content":{"rendered":"
4 MIN READ – Beyond a passion for his job, Jerome Pickens, the September Loop Employee of the Month, is full of compassion for his community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a houseperson at DoubleTree Hotel, Jerome Pickens is one of the reasons guests find a pleasant escape inside their room. He assists room attendants in maintaining over 160 units, including the hallways of eight floors of the hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pickens, 40, started his career in hospitality as a dishwasher at DoubleTree Hotel twelve years ago. Although it wasn\u2019t the most glamorous job at the time, he saw it as an opportunity to learn more and make his way up the ladder. It took him only a year to become cook five, where he was in charge of the fruit and vegetable preparation. Then, he was promoted to cook one, working on the line, doing dinner service, banquet prep, and doing demos at different food and wine festivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It\u2019s easy to grow in hospitality,\u201d said Pickens. \u201cThey say, \u2018You know how to use a knife?\u2019 \u2018No.\u2019 \u2018You want to learn?\u2019 \u2018Yes.\u2019 \u2018Come on.\u2019 They\u2019ll give you proper training, and once you learn how to use the knife, everything is pretty easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working under Chef Scott Walton, a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Pickens fell in love with cooking. He was learning the ropes and developing his skills in the kitchen from the seasoned professional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was a great teacher. He taught me so much,\u201d Pickens reminisced about his mentor, Walton. \u201cHe trained me on how to put together gorgeous plates. When I was working with him, I wanted to become a big-time chef. I was watching Food Network all the time and started living and breathing everything culinary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not too long after Walton left DoubleTree, Pickens moved to Einstein Bros. Bagels inside the hotel, where he started having face time with customers more often than his previous jobs. Two years later, the bagel shop closed, so he switched to his third and current job in hospitality\u2014a houseperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just love working in hospitality, period,\u201d said Pickens. “There\u2019s a lot of room for growth in hospitality. I\u2019ve seen people start as a front desk agent and make it to Assistant General Manager. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to travel and see the world. Hilton has a wonderful Team Member Travel Program that I use frequently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pickens\u2019 passion for hospitality is palpable on his job. One visitor from Kentucky left a heartwarming review on TripAdvisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Pickens is on the Care Committee of the hotel. As one of the representatives from his department, he meets every month with other employees and management to discuss ways they can improve the workplace. They build on their successes and try to rectify any flaws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond a passion for his job, Pickens has a compassion for others and believes in giving back to his community. He volunteers at the Greater Chicago Food Depository.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt can easily be you or me,” said Pickens. \u201cI have a full-time job and do deliveries on the side, and sometimes I still don\u2019t have enough in my refrigerator. It\u2019s hard with the bills, insurance, utilities, and other expenses on your back. So I can\u2019t imagine those who don\u2019t even make half of what I\u2019m making with more kids than I have. When I saw people in the cold and the heat, waiting in line for food, I said, \u2018I have to do something to make a change.\u2019 If we didn\u2019t volunteer, they\u2019d have to hire more people.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the volunteers are important. I\u2019m even doing the Hunger Walk on September 7 to raise funds and awareness to end hunger in Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pickens also volunteers at Active Transportation Alliance\u2019s Bike the Drive because he wants to make biking and walking safer for Illinois. He usually parks his car at Cermak and bikes to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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