An ISU alumnus is giving students a unique opportunity.

Dipak Biswas is the owner of Indian Delights, 127 Dotson Drive, which currently has eight ISU students employed.

The restaurant opened at the end of September 2009.

“They are the best to hire,” Biswas said. “I want to help the students.”

Biswas is an ISU alumnus and used to work at Iowa State.

“I went to graduate school at Iowa State,” Biswas said. “I used to work for Iowa State in the Memorial Union and at Reiman Gardens.”

The student employees do a number of roles and jobs at Indian Delights.

“They advise the menus, pricing and they do all the forms,” Biswas said. “They help a lot.”

The key to students making an impact through their work is motivation.

“The students can really make a huge difference by putting their input by showing being motivated,” Biswas said. “If we motivate the students they can do a lot of things.”

The restaurant is essentially run by the students.

“It’s very student oriented and student driven,” Biswas said. “All the students are very intelligent. They come in on time, and I don’t have to really follow them up with anything; they bring their ideas.”

Jordan Nystrom, junior in geology, was hired at Indian Delights in early January this year.

“I saw a job ad for Indian Delights on the student job board online,” Nystrom said. “Then I gave them a call, and it just kind of worked out.”

Nystrom helps in any way that he possibly can at Indian Delights.

“I do a little bit of everything or anything that needs to be done,” Nystrom said. “If there is no one else here then I’ll be a server and wait tables. Otherwise I’ll be in the back to help prepare food or cleaning dishes.”

Ellen Even, senior in communication studies, noticed there was an Indian restaurant opening and went to see if they were hiring.

“I called Dipak and gave him my resume,” Even said.

Even wanted a job at Indian Delights because it is different than other restaurants.

“I like the fact that it is a smaller, locally-owned restaurant,” Even said. “It’s not a part of a chain of restaurants.”

The atmosphere among student employees is positive.

“It’s really enjoyable,” Even said. “We get along really well. It’s different than working at other regular restaurants.”

For Nystrom, working at Indian Delights has helped prepare him for his future by getting used to working hard under certain circumstances.

“I’m getting used to working really hard under a boss,” Nystrom said. “When it gets busy, it is really high pressure; we usually have one or two people working at a time so sometimes it can get a little hectic.”

For Even, working at Indian Delights has helped her work on communication.

“I’ve been interacting with customers,” Even said. “Working at Indian Delights has been helping my communication skills that I get from working with customers.”

Nystrom said he enjoys coming to work every day.

“It’s a great job, I love working here,” Nystrom said. “The stuff the students do really contributes to the business. It’s kind of almost student owned.”