Volunteer Profile: Michael Crommett

Age: 18
Occupation: Student, NYU
Favorite World Peace Cafe Dish: A tie between the Pimento Cheese Sandwich, and the Hot 'n Spicy Peace Burger

This is your last summer before you head off to college.  Why spend it cooking, cleaning, and waiting tables as a volunteer at the World Peace Cafe?
I was first told about volunteering at the World Peace Café by a good friend, so I came to the restaurant several times and enjoyed the food. I instantly picked up on the communal spirit of the Café, and its emphasis on togetherness and tranquility. I found it surprising that after a minute upon entering the restaurant I don't notice how busy, crowded, and loud Hammond Drive is until I walk out of the Café. I soon realized how rare it is to find a place such as the World Peace Café, a place where anyone can come and enjoy a meal free of the pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals of modern food and an environment free of the worries, stresses, and pollution of the modern world. I find that after working a shift at the World Peace Café I feel an internal tranquility. No matter how physically tired I am I feel calm and better able to achieve that same internal tranquility in my own personal interactions with other people. "Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible."

Is there an experience or something you learned while at the Cafe that you think you'll remember even years from now?
I think that idea of internal tranquility will be the overarching lesson I have learned. It is so practical when working in over stressed environments to remember your own internal, spiritual health. It is integral to maintain that internal peace throughout your life and to treat all living beings with respect. I hope to perpetuate that peace with all those I meet after this experience at the World Peace Café. I feel if everyone had a refuge like the World Peace Café there would be far less aggression -- perhaps peace.