--- description: Becky Alderfer surprised the noisy cafeteria with her caroling. title: Cafeteria Worker Shocks Students With Amazing Christmas Karaoke Performance image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Cafeteria Worker Shocks Students With Amazing Christmas Karaoke Performance  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 24, 2015 2:48 PM CUT  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 24, 2015 2:48 PM CUT A [star was born](http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Lunch-Lady-Karaoke-Souderton-High-School-Becky-Alderfer-363404991.html "undefined") at the Souderton High School Teacher’s Karaoke in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. Becky Alderfer, 52, a cafeteria worker at the school, stepped up to the mic at the lunchtime fundraiser for the school’s United Nations Club. When she belted the first high note of her song choice, _“_Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” the chattering cafeteria quieted down and paid attention, NBC reports. “I think it surprised them that the lunch lady started singing,” Alderfer [said](http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Lunch-Lady-Karaoke-Souderton-High-School-Becky-Alderfer-363404991.html "undefined"). “I thought \[the song\] had a nice message and I felt like I knew it well enough that I could get through it.” Alderfer’s musical abilities haven’t exactly been untapped; she’s served as the musical director for a church in the area for more than 30 years. Though students may not have known about her singing background, Alderfer’s colleagues were aware and convinced her to take part in the fundraiser. \[[_NBC Philadelphia_](http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Lunch-Lady-Karaoke-Souderton-High-School-Becky-Alderfer-363404991.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4160981/becky-alderfer-cafeteria-worker-christmas-karaoke/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4160981/becky-alderfer-cafeteria-worker-christmas-karaoke/"},"headline":"Cafeteria Worker Shocks Students With Amazing Christmas Karaoke Performance","datePublished":"2015-12-24T14:48:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:28:05.638Z","description":"Becky Alderfer surprised the noisy cafeteria with her caroling","url":"https://time.com/4160981/becky-alderfer-cafeteria-worker-christmas-karaoke/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Appreciation","Holidays"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4160981/becky-alderfer-cafeteria-worker-christmas-karaoke/","name":"Cafeteria Worker Shocks Students With Amazing Christmas Karaoke Performance"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch Pentatonix Break Down Their Sound","description":"Watch the members break down their \"Cheerleader\" cover and their original song \"Can't Sleep Love\"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/YKVkbitO/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-10-22T22:38:02.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/YKVkbitO.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4160981/becky-alderfer-cafeteria-worker-christmas-karaoke/","duration":"PT3M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4160981/becky-alderfer-cafeteria-worker-christmas-karaoke/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```