A Shared Compass: The Labombarda Father-Son Story
For the Labombarda family, work has always been personal. Long before job titles or career paths came into focus, lessons were learned in the rhythms of everyday life.
Early mornings, long days, shared meals, and conversations about responsibility and effort shaped how work was viewed, not as something you rush through, but something you take pride in doing well. Those lessons, first rooted in the culinary world, would later carry into campus facilities, connecting two very different careers through the same values.
Standards Rooted in the Culinary Craft
Chef Joe Labombarda spent decades in professional kitchens, environments where every detail matters and every person depends on the one beside them. Kitchens are demanding by nature, fast paced, high pressure, and built on trust. Mistakes are visible. Success is collective. Over time, those experiences taught Joe that leadership was less about authority and more about preparation, calm under pressure, and caring for the people doing the work.
As his career progressed, Chef Joe moved from leading kitchens to shaping teams and mentoring future leaders. Today, as Senior Vice President of Culinary for Chartwells, his role centers on people. Developing talent. Building culture. Supporting institutions like Texas A&M that rely on consistency and reliability every single day. The lessons he learned early never left him, they simply took on greater scale.
Discipline That Shapes a Family
Those values did not stay at work. At home, the pace of the culinary world naturally spilled into family life. Because nights, weekends, and holidays are often the busiest times in food service, the family frequently adjusted around Joe’s schedule. Special occasions often meant coming to him rather than the other way around. Those moments-built connection and demonstrated a quiet support of Chef Joe’s love for his chosen field.
Responsibility was modeled rather than explained. Work ethic was visible. Pride came from showing up prepared and doing what you said you would do, even when it required sacrifice. Discipline, as Chef Joe practiced it, was not about rigid rules, but about respect, for the work, for others, and for the commitments you make to the people who depend on you.
“If you take care of your people and stay committed to doing things the right way, everything else tends to fall into place,” Chef Joe says.
Carrying Those Values Onto Campus
That environment left a lasting impression on his son, John. While John chose a different field, the mindset felt familiar. Today, John works in maintenance at Texas A&M University as part of SSC’s Manager in Training program. His work is hands-on and technical, often behind the scenes, but essential to daily campus life. When systems work, students learn, faculty teach, and the campus runs safely.
John approaches the job with the same quiet pride he grew up seeing. Learning from experienced technicians. Asking questions. Taking responsibility. Whether responding to an issue or walking a facility to understand it better, he sees his role as part of a larger whole.
Growing Through the MIT Program at SSC
At SSC, John has found an environment that mirrors many of the lessons he learned early on. The Manager in Training program is built around real world learning, mentorship, and trust. Rather than separating leadership from frontline work, MIT blends the two, allowing associates to grow by doing.
“You can tell a lot about a company by how willing people are to teach,” John says. “Here, people take the time to show you how things work and why it matters.”
Working alongside long-tenured SSC team members has reinforced something John has come to value deeply. Strong teams are built patiently. Knowledge is shared, not guarded. People succeed when they are supported.
One Compass, Shared Direction
Though father and son work in different corners of the Compass umbrella, their paths are guided by the same principles.
Whether leading culinary teams or maintaining campus systems, excellence comes from everyday actions, showing care, passing knowledge forward, and understanding the impact of your work on others.
Living the SSC Values
The Labombarda story reflects what SSC stands for across its campuses. Integrity in how work is done. Accountability to one another. Commitment to learning. Respect for craft, whether that craft is plated for a dining hall or quietly keeping a campus running behind the scenes.
Across Compass Group, these values cross roles, titles, and generations. For Chef Joe and John, they form a shared compass, one that continues to guide how they lead, learn, and serve every day.
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