Time is flying by down here at UGA, and I cannot believe we
completed our first full week already! The week went so fast, and I am constantly
learning. For future interns I want to give you a quick run-down on my week, so
you can have some sort of idea what you will spend your time doing. However, I
want to focus on Friday with more detail, because I felt a great sense of
accomplishment with developing my strengths. Sit tight, I’ll tell you all about
it!
1st weekend:
Saturday and Sunday Demi and I spent some time downtown
exploring Athens. Demi and I plan on spending our weekends exploring the area,
kayaking, hiking, and taking a trip to Atlanta! Downtown Athens has a lot to
offer, great shopping, restaurants, live music, and culture. Because the dining
halls are not open for Sunday dinner we have decided that Sunday nights we will
try different restaurants! We were giving a list of must try’s, and we
want to try as many as possible! We actually tried two this weekend, Sunday morning Kris took us to The Grit for brunch. The Grit is a vegetarian restaurant and I had an awesome breakfast sandwich to start the day! Demi and I choose to try Cali N’ Tino’s for Sunday dinner,
the restaurant is all open seating outside and serves great (and affordable) Mexican
food! Both the meals were awesome and places anyone traveling to Athens should take the time to try!
Monday:
We started our day by meeting with Bryan, Associate Director
of Meal Plan Operations. Bryan is responsible for product orders for all the
dining halls, menu creation, product selection, maintaining quality. We spent
the first part of the morning asking questions about his job to get a better
understanding of his position, and the importance of his job. Bryan then took
us on a tour of the Niche and New Bolton, the dining hall to be opened Fall of
2014! The building is huge, and gorgeous! New Bolton, offers two levels of
sitting and different selections of foods. The place is definitely going to
rockin this year.
After our tours we headed back to Summit to end our
afternoon by learning the ins and outs of the service line. Demi and I were each
placed and a different stations to serve lunch. I spent time working at the
grill. I learned the process of prepping for dinner, keeping the stations
clean, monitoring food temperatures, and customer interaction.
Tuesday:
The focus of today was production. We spent our morning
working within the hot food and bake shop. Today was very hands on, and I
earned a new respect for being in the kitchen all day. It sure does get hot
back there! I kept asking the cooks if they got used to it, most of them said
they didn’t mind the heat, must be because I’m from Michigan!
In the afternoon we sat in on an inventory procedures
meeting with Bryan and Susan. Susan is the other Associate Director but she
focuses on the eateries. Bryan and Susan are creating new standards for
inventory procedures to ensure everyone on campus is doing things the same.
Wednesday:
One thing you learn very quickly is to go with the flow, and
this was one of those day! We were supposed to start our morning but learning
operations in the dish room, but instead we just spent time helping the morning
kitchen crew prepare for breakfast!
Around 9:00 a.m. we sat down with Adam, Brian, and Chef Sam
to discuss the Freshmen Closing Banquet. The closing banquet is one of Demi’s
project for the summer, actually our main and biggest project. We are in charge
of planning the menu, selecting the recipes, choosing a theme, and planning the
decorations. Today we gave them a list of theme ideas, discussed them and
narrowed it down to two. Stay tuned in for our choice!
Thursday:
Today Demi and I were split up at different dining halls,
with a different focus on management. I spent the day learning about general management
duties and payroll.
Friday:
Today was my favorite day of the work week, and no, not
because it was Friday! Today we spent the morning portion of our day in a
mangers workshop. Before I came down to Georgia I was required to complete a
strengths assignment, which then told me my top 5 strengths; woo, includer, positivity,
adaptability, and self-assurance. I know what you are thinking, workshops,
borinnnnng.
But, seriously, the presentation was awesome, and extremely
interactive! I learned more about my strengths then I had ever considered
before. We talked with other managers about how our strengths can allow us to
work in a positive and negative manner. I took my strengths to the next level,
and reflected on ways to improve myself regarding my strengths.
As a young professional developing is the key to my success.
Being able to see the potential in your-self is self-rewarding and exciting.
The entire workshop was focused on taking the individual strengths of the
department and bringing them together to make improvements. I reflected on ways
I have previously used my strengths, and situations which may arise that will
allow me use my strengths. Today was not focused on Food Service as much, but I
believe the workshop will help me use my time even better here at UGA!
Tips for Future Interns:
- If possible avoid online summer classes while you are here! I'm currently taking two, and while it is doable, I'd rather spend those hours exploring! On a positive note they are almost done with!
- Check out legion pool! 3 dollars with your student ID :)
- Take lots of pictures -- a tip Demi and I are trying to improve on!
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