A Bittersweet Farewell to UGA

Well, that’s a wrap! Demi and I have successfully completed our internship at UGA! The internship was an amazing opportunity, I learned more than I could of expected, and I cannot thank the people that helped me this summer enough!

Here’s a quick rundown of my last week at UGA.

Monday:

Today was exciting, exhausting, and a relief all at once. The banquet went exceptionally well, minus a few last minute dilemmas. We had previously ordered mini chalkboards for each of the tables to be used with the centerpieces, but they did not come in on time. But, with “The Show Must Go On!” attitude we continued on with decorating and planning. Even without the chalkboards the tables decorates turned out great and the entire facility looked awesome! We spent 12 hours today with the Summit crew, setting up, executing the event, and then putting everything back away. However, I couldn’t of been happier with the results! A Night at The Eiffel Tower seemed to be a hit!

Above: our table decorations, minus the chalkboards :/ 

Above: we used baskets filled with empty wine bottles to set the french atmosphere.

The above three pictures are just three examples of the awesome food Chef Sam prepared! We had cheesecake crepes for dessert, gnocchi as a side dish, and ratatouille as a vegetarian option! 

 This was our crepe stations, we tried to set the atmosphere of a street care with the cobble stone, umbrella and a large chalk board sign! 

Under the Eiffel Tower we served sparkling grape fruit juice which seemed to be a hit! 

Tuesday:

Today we headed over to Summit for an hour or so to finish putting away decorations from Monday night.

After that we went with Kris, to YourPie, a local pizza franchise. We met with the fonder Drew and had lunch discussing the operation. Its always enjoyable talking to business owners and picking their brains, and this was no exception!

Wednesday:

Well, today was our very last day as interns. Bittersweet. I am so excited to be headed home and to see my family, and enjoy a few weeks before school starts back up, but I sure will miss all the friendly and welcoming faces at UGA.

Today we wrapped up the intern life by presenting our training module on cross-contamination, looking over resumes/cover letters, and completing our final evaluation.

I would like to take a minute to thank the entire UGA Food Service team for making this experience great, and guiding me through the summer! A BIG thanks to Kris, for organizing an amazing program! I cant believe how fast this 9 weeks has gone, but who knows maybe I have future in the south ;)

I would also like to thank Demi for being a great partner in crime, I am glad I had the opportunity to work with you this summer! 

Future Interns—

If you have any questions during your application process feel free to email me at snydern2@msu.edu

University of Georgia - The Final Blog!

*deep sigh* 

I can't believe this is the last NACUFS Internship blog I'll ever write! What a bittersweet moment this is. Before I get into the dramatics, let me tell you about my last week as a UGA intern. 

Monday

*drum roooooollllllll* Today was the BIG day. Our "A Night at the Eiffel Tower" themed Freshman College Closing Banquet has finally arrived. It went great! Prepare for picture overload. 

Finished Duck Confit. It was fall off the bone yummy!

Beef marinating for the Chateaubriand. 

Crepes chilling in the Cooks Cooler.

I'm happy with how the programs turned out!

Managers helping us hang the Paris skyline.

Entrance sign.

"Pierre's Crepe" street cart. Complete with a cobblestone floor, red canopy and street light!

Dessert area.

Sparkling wine (*ahem*, grape juice)

Creme Brûlée

Chocolate Mousse

Arc De Triomphe

Duck Confit Salad w/ Poached Pear and Vanilla Orange Vinaigrette 

Freshman students filing in!

Chateaubriand

Filet de Sole w/ Grenobloise

Zucchini and Artichoke Medley

Chicken Au Poivre 

Spinach and Gouda Quiche

Asparagus w/ Parmesan Breadcrumbs and Mascarpone

Gnocchi Au Gratin w/ Creole Creme Sauce

Ratatouille 

Baguette Bread & Croissants

Crepes w/ Mixed Berries and Cream Cheese

Tuesday

We got to meet Drew French, the owner of YourPie franchises. It was very interesting meeting an individual who started from a simple dream and concept, and is now expanding and growing successfully. Very inspiring!

Wednesday

Welp. It's here. The last day. We met with Kris for a farewell lunch at Snelling and then headed over to Bolton to present our Special Selections Training Module. Afterward, Kris and Jeanne Fry went over our resumes and application materials. I greatly appreciated receiving the constructive criticism. Then we each had our final reviews with Kris.

Kris presenting our certificates of completion :-)

SO...I cannot stress how blessed and thankful I am to have received this opportunity. Kris saw something in me that has only fueled me to continue on this career path. The business and life lessons I've gained are incredible. And I honestly couldn't have asked for a better person to share this journey with because Nikki is awesome! I also see why so many people live, work, and attend school in Athens, GA. It is a beautiful Southern city filled with amazing people. I will see so many faces again next year at the NACUFS Regional Conference, so this is only a temporary goodbye!

To anyone reading this blog and considering applying for the internship...DO IT! If you have reservations and minor issues holding you back...LET THEM ALL GO! When will you get the opportunity to possibly travel across the country, meet amazing people, make lifelong connections, LEARN, and get paid to do it???? You never know where life will take you, or where you will find yourself in a situation where you will have to pull from the skills you've learned through NACUFS. And remember, this experience is only WHAT YOU MAKE IT! Make it the ride of a lifetime! 

Once again, a HUGE thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to Kris Ingmundson. It's been a great journey and I'm forever grateful.

Week 8 -- UGA

This week was pretty laid back, and we had a lot of scheduled time to prepare for the banquet. Things are really wrapping up down here in Georgia, and Monday’s the big day! I can’t wait to see all of our planning come together and finally execute the event.

Monday:

Today the interns from Kennesaw State University came to UGA. We showed them around Bolton, which is well on its way to be ready for opening day! We also took them over to the library so they could see one of the campus eateries, and then we took them to Summit to show them another dining commons and to grab lunch.

Tuesday:

Today Demi and I spent the morning at Starbucks studying for our ServSafe test. We then headed over to meet Kris to take our tests. We both passed with flying colors, so that was a huge weight lifted of our shoulders!

Wednesday:

Today was took a tour of Jitter Joe’s roasting facility. I knew very little about coffee, so today was extremely informing and interesting. Jitter Joe’s only uses two people to roast all their coffee beans, and they get beans from all over the world. I didn’t realize there are so many different types of beans!

 The above pictures is coffee beans found from droppings of a Civet. 

This coffee cost around 200 dollars! No thanks! :)

 I never realized that coffee beans came from the pits of fruits such as cherries!

The above picture shows the process of 

cooling down the beens after they are roasted!

Thursday/Friday:

Both Thursday and Friday were dedicated to project work. We finished painting the coble stone ground, put the flower arrangements together, folded 325 napkins, polished silverware, prepared the signs to be hung from the ceiling, and organized the decorations. 

Monday is going to be a long day filled with decorating, organizing, and leadership but I can’t wait to see the results! Stay tuned for pictures y’all!

Tips for Future Interns:

-If you are applying for a DI start the process early! The application and materials are extremely time consuming and its better to be ahead!

-Double-check the materials you are ordering for your event, especially dimensions and printing formats for the digital design items.

-Order decorations early so the materials come in on time!

Until next time! Check out next weeks post for pictures of our final event! 

University of Georgia - Week 8

So this is what we were up to this week...

Monday
KSU interns came to visit us! We showed them New Bolton, library eatery and Village Summit. They got a good piece of what we do here at UGA from both a dining and eatery perspective.

Tuesday
Nikki and I are officially ServSafe Certified! After weeks of studying, we both passed our exams.

Wednesday
Field trip day! We went on an exciting adventure to Jittery Joes Roasting Facility. I don't drink coffee so I don't know much about the process. It was very interesting to learn about different origins of coffee beans, how they roast them and blend flavors. It smelled so yummy in there!

Facility

Coffee beans roasted & cooling.

An example of BAD coffee. 

So these coffee beans come from the droppings of an animal. Interesting, huh?

Stages of coffee bean roasting. Top right, fresh green beans. Bottom left, dark roasted beans.

Their new giant roaster. 

How they label and close cans of finished coffee.

Thursday & Friday

The rest of this week was dedicated to project work. We got a lot of things finished and prepped for the big day on Monday!

Finished cobble stone floor for the crepe station.

Flower centerpieces put together.

See ya next week!