If you have walked through the dining hall at any point in your time at Hardin-Simmons University, you have probably been greeted by Billie Sneed.
Sneed is the Catering Director at HSU, and she has been working here since 2002. Towards the end of the year, she will be celebrating 20 years of employment at Hardin-Simmons. However, according to Sneed, it has not felt like much of a job.
“I just love what I do,” Sneed said.
Sneed was actually working at McMurry University when she heard that Hardin-Simmons was in need of a catering director. She says that for some reason, she kept feeling God tugging at her, telling her that she needed to come here. Although she did not understand why, she knew that it was time to take on this new role.
“God led me here to HSU,” she said. “I know since I came here, it has been more of God trying to get me to step out in faith and trust Him. I did not fully trust Him before, but you have no idea how much God has blessed me since I have been here.”
Now, 20 years later, she has experienced much change and growth on campus. She has worked under three different presidents, and she has seen the dining area change twice. She states that when she first started, the deli area was where the desserts are now. She has seen the building of Fletcher Fitness Center, Holland, the Alumni Wall, the Houston Lantrip Center, the Physical Therapy Department, the intramural field and the various apartment complexes..
She says that her favorite part about Hardin-Simmons is that the people here automatically make you feel like part of the family. “They open up and take you in and care about you. You’re not just another face in the crowd.”
She used to always bring her daughter with her to work, and the staff accepted her into the family as well. They have watched her daughter grow up since she was about 8 years old, and now, her daughter is a student at Hardin-Simmons. Sneed feels proud that her daughter can go to the school that she was–in effect–raised.
“I feel comfortable and safe with her being here. They have opened up and accepted her. It has been beneficial to myself and my daughter,” Sneed said.
Sneed has made lots of memories here, but she says that her daughter getting accepted to HSU has been her favorite. She is excited that her daughter can go to school in a place where there is “education enlightened by faith”–and she acknowledges the importance of going somewhere that a Bible is a common sight..
Since she has seen many students come and go, she now gives advice to students at HSU: “Trust in God. Don’t allow your peers to guide you in different ways. Go to chapel. Remember how you were brought up and continue on that path. Study and know why you’re here.