This week was filled with black caffeinated tea and very early mornings.
I am still very much enjoying Athens and learning about all this beautiful city has to offer. Let's get into the business of what we did this week!
Monday
This morning we met Bryan Varin at O' House for breakfast (and Jeanne Fry came along too!) Bryan is the Associate Director of Meal Plan Operations. We talked a bit about how UGA purchases food through a bid system and also the pros of a self-operated system versus contracting out dining services. That topic (self-operated vs. contract) is particularly interesting to me, as my home university utilizes a contract company. We then toured the brand new Bolton Replacement building, which is still under construction. It is massive in there and so spacious compared to the other dining halls! It is going to be a popular spot in the Fall. We also stopped by the Niche which is located on the Health Sciences campus and not opened during the Summer. Later, as Bryan drove us to Summit, he gave us an interesting history lesson on UGA's campus expansion and a few tidbits on Athens during the Civil War. He also chastised us on not knowing who R.E.M. is. When we arrived at Summit, we met up with Adam Rainville who is an Assistant Manager. We worked FOH during the busy lunch time and I helped man the Pizza station.
New Bolton Replacement Building
Nikki and I in our hard hats and construction gear.
The Niche
Tuesday
Today we reported to O' House and met Max, an Assistant Manager. We worked in BOH at the hot food area and bake shop. I started out at the hot food area, and after being showed how to scramble a large quantity of eggs on a flat hot grill, I got to work. UGA has many summer camps who utilize the dining halls for meals, and breakfast was busy this morning. I scrambled regular eggs and cheese eggs for about an hour before starting on another task. Travis, who was showing me the ropes, had me help him sear and season four pork loins for lunch, then assemble and pop them in the oven to bake. I then ventured over to the bake shop and met Anthony. With Anthony I made cinnamon rolls, apple tarts, rolls, and a few other tasty treats. We then met Susan van Gigch (Associate Director of Retail Operations) and Bryan for an inventory procedures meeting. Susan and Bryan are dealing with the task of standardizing the method in which all dining halls and retail operations account for their inventory.
Wednesday
After heading over to Summit verrrry early, we met with Adam and was immediately instructed to help open the dining hall for breakfast. We basically gave some extra hands wherever it was needed. Later, we sat down for breakfast with other members of the Summit team and started discussing the Freshman Closing Banquet we are planning. Nikki and I are in charge of constructing a creative and detailed theme, menu, decorations, and anything else associated with a banquet style dinner. We are very excited! After discussion (which is all top secret right now), I helped out at the Grill during the lunch rush.
Thursday
Today was all about learning opening, scheduling and general managerial procedures with Adam at Summit. Adam arrives at Summit around 5:30, and starts his day handling any matters from the previous day, counting and packaging money from the safe and making sure the staff is present and on time. He also turns on all the lights, TVs and opens the door for business. There is a host of other things an Assistant Manager is tasked with doing, but we went over the basics today. That morning, there was a pleasant visit from a few school cafeteria managers. Adam and Aaron split the group up into two tours and gave them a rundown of how they handle the large volume of students while maintaining proper health and food codes. It was very interesting hearing the differences and similarities between a county school and university. The cafeteria managers were amazed at how organized their system was; back and front of the house. A little later, Adam and I sat down and we went over how he schedules his employees. Adam has a very unique and detailed method of making sure all shifts are covered. He has designed his own paperwork, grid and table to compute what needs to be done, where, and who needs to do it. I must say, I was impressed at how methodical it all was. I also sat down with Aaron and wrote up an assignment sheet for lunch. UGA staffs hundreds of student employees per dining hall during the school year, but cuts back on that number drastically during the summer. The assignment sheet helps to know where everyone is working. I spent the rest of the day walking the floor and making sure all the stations were functioning well.
Friday
It's the Management Workshop today! Nikki and I headed over to Snelling and met Nichole Lovely, a NACUFS intern from 2007! She now works as an Assistant Manager at Snelling. We rode with her over to the Niche and I got to pick her brain along the way. I asked her about the transition from postgraduate to Assistant Manager and if it was a difficult one, and if there were any issues with managing individuals older than her. It was great to hear insight from someone who was once in our shoes. Before the workshop, Kris tasked us with completing the Clifton StrengthFinders Assessment. After taking a timed test, we each received our top five strengths, which we were to bring with us to the workshop. My top strengths were Intellection, Connectedness, Input, Analytical and Futuristic. We spent the morning doing various activities aimed at learning how to utilize our strengths in a team and work with others who have different strengths than us. It was truly insightful and I learned so much about how to make the most out of teamwork. We had a great lunch, then listened while Bryan and Susan delivered the State of the Department address. We got another tour of New Bolton then finished the day off with ice cream!
I can't believe I'm already gearing up for Week 3. Time is flying! I am learning so much and meeting so many great people. Stay tuned for what's to come!!
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