If you have eaten a meal in Straz Tower in the past 11 years, you have probably met Ceree Hall. On campus, the Sodexo employee is known as the cheerful woman with contagious enthusiasm who swipes IDs in Straz’s dining hall. At home, Hall is a published author.

Hall has always loved to write. Throughout her childhood, she constantly kept a notebook on hand to jot down her thoughts when inspiration hit. She ventured into journalism during high school. As an adult, Hall has two published novels with a third one on the way.

While Hall is known for her vivacious attitude and spunky personality on campus, she is not afraid to tackle complex and emotional topics in her novels.

During a Straz Residence Hall Association program last week, Hall talked about her journey as a writer and what motivated her to write her books.

“I started thinking, what’s going on? What needs to be exposed?” Hall said.

Hall is a passionate advocate of domestic violence awareness. Although her stories are fictional, her personal experiences heavily influence her writing.

Her first novel, “Fed Up,” is about a young married couple in the midst of a financial struggle. Husband Jaden deals with his frustration by having an affair with a co-worker. His wife, Rain, attempts to get out of the emotionally and physically abusive relationship, and eventually retaliates against Jaden.

“(The book) touches on greed. It shows how easy it can be to commit adultery and murder,” Hall said. “I’m trying to expose abuse in every fashion there is.”

Hall encourages people going through difficult times to stay strong and create change. She wants to bring hope to victims of abusive relationships.

“You have to have some sort of breaking point. Once you hit that point, you want to start changing,” Hall said. “Maybe if I write, they’ll start listening.”

Hall said she is not only motivated to encourage discussion about domestic violence and feels strongly about other pressing social issues. She wants stronger reform programs to help released prisoners stay out of jail and is also interested in improving the public education system.

“I want to do anything in the community … I want to be in the center of that,” Hall said.

Marquette has created a strong sense of community for Hall. Sodexo hired her in 2001, and she has worked in the Straz dining hall ever since. She has been given opportunities to switch buildings and has been offered promotions as a dining hall manager. Hall declined the position and had no interest in switching locations. She has no intention in leaving Marquette any time soon.

“One day God is going to move me, but I’m not going to rush that day. I hope when I leave I’m going to be crying,” Hall said.

Hall enjoys her job because she loves interacting with students and taking small measures to brighten their day.

“You guys are not around your family, but that’s what I’m here for,” Hall said. “I need to take care of all of you.”

Will Kassel, a junior in the College of Engineering, attended the RHA program about Hall. He was most impressed with her perseverance. After Hall started writing during her free time on weekends and during breaks, she received encouragement from friends and family to publish “Fed Up.” When large publishing companies chose not to accept the manuscript, Hall found her own resources to self-publish the book.

“She’s really passionate about what she writes about,” Kassel said. “I was so excited, I had to purchase the first (book).”

After writing “So, Fed Up,” the sequel to her first novel, Hall took her writing in a different direction. She just finished “Taking My Life Back (I Dare Someone To Get In The Way Of It),” a story about the power of choice. In the novel, a police officer fails to stop a preventable crime and is forced to live in the aftermath of a poor decision.

“If you do the wrong thing, you’re going to suffer the consequences,” Hall said. “You can’t build bridges just to burn them down.”

Hall writes inspirational yet dramatic literature, but she also wants to explore different genres. She currently writes poetry and performs on Tuesday poetry nights at Nostalgia II, a bar on West Appleton Avenue. She has thought about writing children’s books and is even in the process of writing stand-up comedy. She said she is going to continue writing and chasing her dreams.

“When you have a passion for something, you don’t let anyone get in the way of that,” Hall said.