John Haugen, WSU Creamery Manager - Podcast EP. 22

If you like cheese, ice cream, a little history, and a whole lot of WSU, have we got the episode for you!

In this episode of CougsFirst! Podcast, we sit down with John Haugen, a Pullman born – Colfax raised WSU alumni (‘93) whose trajectory has taken him from agricultural and engineering to assistant manager (circa 1995) and manager (circa 2015) of –none other than– the WSU Creamery!

Home of the world-famous Cougar Gold®, a fair-wage workplace for WSU students, and a renowned business that’s putting Cougs first!

John not only talks about the history of The Creamery at WSU, but he’s sharing his personal story on how he ended up at WSU, and why he loves what he does.

You’ll also hear the true story behind Cougar Gold® and Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe, why the Creamery is passionate about providing educational opportunities for students, and how they come up with new cheese and ice cream flavors –plus so much more!

Education at the WSU Creamery

“Education has always been a part of it. And that’s a big part of why we don’t just make all the cheese we can because our focus is on making sure we have a great work experience for the student employees that they can take with them when they graduate.”

Making Money Isn’t the Main Goal

“I think it’s important for people to recognize that. I mean, it’s a business but with the intent of education, and just the charge is different. So you’re not just because you can make tons of money if you were to expand and sell this everywhere. That’s not really the intent of it in the first place.”