From the ground up: Week 2 in Madison

Gordon Dining Hall

Four Lakes Market

A week complete, and I must say I have mixed feelings! Traveling to Madison, settling into the dorm at UW, getting to know new people (and even friends!), and working in the dining program. It has all been a terrific adjustment to say the least, but I finally feel like I am settling into the life of a NACUFS intern, which is another terrific adjustment!


A feel a sense of pride for having made it this far, literally and figuratively, and I know that I still have 7
weeks to push boundaries. However, for as much pride as I feel, I am also getting in touch with my humility. That, I believe is what has guided me through this past week. Humility and gratitude.  So okay, I'm not going to lie, 8-10 hour days in a dish room is not the work I, or Kyle, were expecting when we applied to this program.  There is an initial sense of importance which I think is normal to feel and sort of comes with the being accepted to a national internship package. Pat on the back, kid, you got an internship! Gold star for you! Certainly, none of this is  to say I am some stuck up snob who can't handle a day of hard work. It was more of a system shock. It may also have been the caffeine that kept me going all week...That being said, I understand better now what it means to work up the ladder, and I have learned some valuable lessons from starting at the bottom rung. Lessons that any future professional or manager must at some point in their development have the opportunity to learn.

In my understanding, a manager, or any leader for that matter, must practice humility and modesty. They must also know what it means to walk in the shoes of every individual that they manage. As Joie explained to us on our second day, engaging with others is the quickest way to success for any organization. She believes in this so much, she has devoted herself to getting to know each UW Dining management and administrative team member while providing social and professional opportunities in her engagement plan that I spoke of in my previous post.

Home sweet home. Dishroom at Four Lakes where I worked with Robert

Working in the dish room, and learning the ropes of each food service station is going to prepare me for the greater challenges that lie ahead. I have learned not only how to operate a machine, but how the operation of that machine contributes to a functioning operation as a whole.  I have watched station supervisors think on their feet, and take great pride in their work. I really enjoyed learning from James in cold foods prep. He kept me busy, and helped me to understand that even the simplest of tasks can make all the difference. Double wrapping and labeling pans containing ready-to eat foods, washing hands and changing gloves frequently, cleaning out the freezer (yes, I did that!) , all jobs that may seem overly tedious and troublesome. However,  a change in attitude and perspective reveals that even small efforts can be the difference between a food poisoning incidence, an allergic reaction, or a customer receiving a product of diminished quality. Working with Robert in the dish-room, I learned how developing a system can be the difference between chaos and a job well-done.  There are parallels between the dish room and the management office. Managing what is at hand while also thinking ahead to what is coming through the dish drop window. There will always be challenges ready to flood your system, but creating a plan and understanding the character of those challenges will always meet your needs.

Exploring Madison together!

Outside of the dining units, I have been falling in love with Madison, and I feel incredibly grateful to be surrounded by such beauty every time I walk outside. This weekend was beautiful! Kyle and I enjoyed Friday after work exploring the city nightlife and Saturday afternoon browsing the cute little shops, food spots and boutiques that line State Street. I also spent time exploring the trails leading to the scenic Picnic Point on Lake Monona. 

Madison gets it right.

 In my travels, I came across a sign on my journey that I think nicely connects my reflections of the past week in the dining hall and my respect for the beauty of this city. Madison celebrates nature, its beauty, its healing power, and its power for helping us to understand, appreciate and reflect on the foundations of life. Our busy and demanding lives drive us away from simplicity. Nature helps us return to it, contributing to a whole person. In the same way, dish washing and food prepping may not be glamorous, but it serves a purpose, and contributes to forging a better manager.

A morning walk to Gordon on my first day working in the units. Nothing like a sunrise to calm nerves!

Week 1: Madison,

Day 3: Wednesday

Kyle and I wrapped up Day 3 with a handful of final visits with the staff of DCS. It was a big morning! We began our day with the lovely Joie Schoonover, a hardworking, goal-oriented (and goal-achieving), sincerely genuine and kind Director of Dining and Culinary Services here at UW-Madison. As a bright-eyed intern, I simply cannot speak enough about Joie. Our conversation with her was empowering as she explained her journey to where she is now. Her top 3 tips: Listen, Be Yourself, Work Hard! and true to her words, this is exactly how she made her way to the top. 

Joie's Engagement Plan Sheet

 

In her time as Director of Dining at UW-Madison, Joie has successfully overseen the construction and opening of the two largest dining facilities on campus (Four Lakes Market and Gordon), lead a major staff restructuring eliminating the excess layers to increase communication between departments and department heads, spearheading a purchasing overhaul that included adding in a cycle menu to increase forecasting accuracy and combined vendor contracts. We learned that it was Joie who moved the dining halls from the cafeteria, stainless steel era into its current marketplace, branded-concept setup.

I was of course humbled by her achievements, but only to a point of quiet adoration. One of the greatest aspects of Joie's character shines through in her management style and treatment of the people and organizations she interacts with.  She explained to us that her preferred style of management is one that emphasizes giving back and employee engagement. She developed an amazing plan she calls the 
Employee Engagement Model to increase the development of interpersonal relationships and employee satisfaction. The model is simple enough on paper, but I was taken by its well-thought out organization and progressive style. It starts with Interpersonal Relationships and links in Professional Development, Cooperation/Respect, Policy Fairness and Transparency, and Employee Recognition. As a manager, I hope to serve as an ambassador to Joie's attention to respect and teamwork. I truly believe that the most direct route to success not just in management or food-service, is the recognition of the diversity of talent and the power of employee engagement with their higher-ups. 

Another thing that I admire in Joie was her determination. She set goals, she strategized, and she achieved those goals. Her accomplishments began as enormous projects, but she never faltered in her vision. I know personally, I have began many projects only to doubt myself half-way through, or feel that progress was not being made, or the opposition was too strong, and I gave up. No more of that! Of course, not all ideas are good ideas, but with careful attention to detail and bit of self-confidence many things are possible and they can be the difference between average and great. 

 
Working through the rest of the office, Kyle and I finally met with the ladies whose smiles have greeted us each morning with an enthusiasm that seemed to over score my own perceptions of self-importance. The last-but not least Kris and Jenn, Central Office Functions Receptionists. As a receptionist in the mail room at UNH, I know how the responsibilities of these women serve as the life blood to the operation. A kitchen can have an army of talented chefs, but without the dishwasher, no one gets served! Kris and Jenn make sure no one goes hungry!They keep track of the sometimes overlooked aspects of a food-service operation. Changing prices as they filter through from purchasing, fronting phone calls from seriously confused parents , printing/labeling product, and of course, someone has to update the website and TV menu boards so that patrons know when, where and what they can access for food.

As we move into our food service rotations tomorrow, the information we received from Paula Storch, Cook/Chill and Bakery Unit Chef at Gordon Dining Center was certainly a great start to understanding how those jobs get done. Paula gave a walk through of the paperwork and scheduling that provides the food prep staff the materials, foresight and accuracy to get their job done. It is quite the process to get from menu to mouth. I still haven't sorted out all of the on-paper information yet, but Paula promises it will start to make more sense as we see the process of menu planning, ordering, and production in real time. Something that I found quite striking about her role was the amount of detail that goes into planning a menu. We discussed how sometimes determining a menu goes beyond simple numbers on a register. Sometimes Paula has to do a bit of mind-reading, guessing on the psychology of the students and customers on any given day; what they're going to prefer to eat that day, what season it is, the weather, etc. It was amazing to me the attention to detail required to be a chef. It's not just about creating something yummy to eat. I am excited to get more into this aspect of food service as the weeks go along. As a student dining associate at UNH, I know the ins and outs of making food, but I have always sort of taken advantage of the fact that the food I cook comes from a system of great complexity.

The recipe list we used to mark off allergens/gluten using CBORD

Finishing up lunch, Kyle and I headed over to Liz Waters to continue work on our allergen/gluten free menu which we have been building with Kevin Hoblit using the recipe nutrition database, CBORD. We made great headway today, finishing up recipe checking for allergen and gluten contents. It was a tedious process, but I feel that I have really benefited personally from scrutinizing ingredient labels. It has really sharpened my skills at recognizing gluten-containing ingredients (which can sometimes be hidden), and I know that reading these labels will be of great use to me when I take Food Science next semester. Something that really shocked the Slow Foodie in me was the amount of ingredients in items who's names would suggest simplicity. Nothing to turn you off from that chicken nugget in the dining hall than knowing it contains somewhere in the range of 20-30 ingredients, most of which I can't pronounce.

Searching for those pesky glutens!

Going above and beyond expectations (because we are awesome!), Kyle and I typed up a consolidated list of each recipe that Kevin could use to create his menu. We made a list of eliminations for those that we found contained treenuts, peanuts, or shellfish, a list of recipes that contained no allergens or gluten, and a list that contained gluten but could be modified in some way to make it gluten-free. (i.e removing the bun, substituting for gluten-free version). I know these are the kinds of things I will most certainly be tasked with as a dietitian, and even if that is not that path I venture down learning to pay attention, make recommendations, and produce accurate and clear reports for superiors is a necessary skill of any employment.

Another long day tomorrow, but I'm ready! The next few days, we will be working in the dishroom, and I have to admit I'm pretty excited! It will be a bit of brain break for me. I have been working in the dining halls for 3 years, and I have cross-trained on every station. I hope that I will learn new things, but also have a chance to shine and show off my work ethic.

That's it from this intern! Stay tuned.

“Everything must be made as simple as possible. But not simpler.”

Another BIG day at the BIG 10 school! For those who don't know (because I certainly didn't, being a New Hampshirite), the "Big 10" actually refers to 12 universities in the United States, primarily in the Midwest,  whose athletics compete in the Division I conference...DISCLAIMER: if that is any way incorrect, attribute the error to my lack of aptitude for sports/sports lingo rather than lack of research.
As you know by now, I am fortunate enough to intern here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of the 12 biggies, along with : University of Illinois, Indiana University (where my intern partner, Kyle attends!), University of Iowa, John Hopkins University, University of Maryland (woo, New England!), University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, University of Nebraska, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, and Perdue University. 

Personally, I feel grateful for my 12,500 undergrads at UNH. I cannot imagine the stress of 44,000. Parking is bad enough, and I certainly would not want to experience the chaos at the MUB Dunkin Donuts on your average New England winter morning with that many caffeine rabid youngsters on the loose. :) I am however, grateful to be at such a large school for the NACUFS internship. If I can survive these 8 weeks working in their Dining program,  I can survive anywhere. If I got anything out of this Big 10 school, its amazement at the complexity of a system that controls this amount of bodies. It can be done, and it is slowly starting to make sense.

Day 2: Tuesday

Monday we met the dining facilities and today we met their parents! The fabulous people of DCS (Dining Central Services) who keep the facilities running, breathing, and diapers on.  After breakfast at Carson's Gulley, Kyle and I made our way on Bus 80 across campus to Gordon's Hall where we spent the rest of the day working our way from office to office to meet with the first 6 of the "BIG 10" personnel. I have never met such an array of characters, and it was wonderful getting to know each individuals background and understand just a little bit about what role they play in the building. This is something which I have wondered at for some time now. I have been working in the UNH Dining Halls for three years, going on four, and I have never had the chance to really sit down face to face with the back of house and administrative staff to understand the treadmill that not only keeps me fed as a student but provides me the materials and ability to do my job as a student dining associate.

First on our list was Julie Luke, Associate Director of Dining

With a big smile and good morning, Julie welcomed us into her office, dispelling any fears that may have existed for us interns in hearing the heavy words: "associate director of..." Presenting us with a small organizational chart that she had prepared for our meeting, Julie did a great job acquainting us with the general overview of the enormous Department of University Housing which we would be calling home for the next 8 weeks.

On this sheet, the chart went over each administrative position in the department including the head director of university hosing to the 8 major administrative positions we would be visiting today. It was a useful tool for beginning to understand how the team was structured and how the organization worked together.

It seemed to me that Julie's role in the organization focuses mostly around developing greater system efficiency. She works to develop system models for the department, reorganizing and restructuring layers of operation in order to consolidate responsibilities while breaking down hierarchical structures for better resource management and customer service. As I took note of her daily responsibilities, I started remembering a lot of what I had learned in Management just a few years earlier. To my dismay, I found myself wishing I had paid more attention to these seemingly useless theories. Although at the time management theories, flowcharts, and organizational charts didn't seem as if they would ever play a role in any of my future career options, it became apparent that Julie's role is really about enduring and fervent progress towards improvement, and that is not something to be ignored. It takes an understanding of how these systems work not just on a micro levels but on a level broad enough to get the big picture.

Like an anthill who's exterior is nothing more than a lump of sand, food service systems seem to have almost effortless movement, but there are people like Julie whose efforts keep that treadmill moving. They do not allow anything to stay static for too long. Something can always be consolidated, efforts better communicated and coordinated, preparations set into action, and customers served more efficiently and with greater cost and profit outcomes. For example, under Julie's guidance the university has increased their non-residence purchases by 25% in reducing their item markups.She also works to increase opportunities for student's wishing to gain experience in management. She oversees student employment models including: the assistant student supervisor, head supervisors, and student run facilities like the Flamingo Run convenience store as well as the development of the conference service department which has increased in popularity and allows the University of Wisconsin to provide outreach to Wisconsin state residents.

I admire her work towards progress. On a personal level at least, her lesson to me is to never accept inactivity. Each day is an opportunity to grow more and more skilled at doing something, even if you have already carved out a way to do it.

Next on our journey we met with Jodi Bodnar, POS (point-of-service) manager.

Sitting in Jodi's office surrounded by a large model cashier register and endless mountains of paper, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I soon began to gain a deeper understanding of her invaluable role in UW-Dining. Jodi's journey to her current position began as a student worker and head supervisor right here as an undergraduate at UW-Madison. When I asked her about what type of formal training had prepared her for this position, she spoke solely of the opportunities for learning which she had gained working as a student employee in Housing. Jodi explained enthusiastically that she moved into this position simply because she had the desire to learn, the ability to observe, and a passion for helping others. I found her attitude incredibly REFRESHING. She told us a story from her days as a student in which she would wander from room to room taking mental inventory of each product in their supply and its location. She loved to be that go-to girl for other workers and managers in a time of need. With this self-directed enthusiasm for her job, she found that being that always HELPFUL type of worker really made her position in the establishment invaluable and almost irreplaceable.

If there was anything for certain, I knew that if my computer ever died, I'd be calling Jodi. She is an IT master and her role in the organization has helped them establish an IBM system of registers for all of their establishments through the contracted food service POS systems company Blackboard-Sequoia. Jodi oversees POS register activity, troubleshoots any issues with the system,  manages reporting and charging as well as updating of prices and menus on a daily basis. She also work to develop new programs on the system to suit the needs of the dining facility including building their own functions to suit the needs of POS register transactions and menu planning for the dining staff in the back of the house. It soon became clear to me that the interaction between cashier and customer is a far more complex process than most people can even imagine. It takes an enormous amount of planning, updating, and regulation of records to make sure the facility stays operational. Any slip in accuracy can be catastrophic for inventory, accounting purposes and controlling food costs.

Beyond her computer abilities, Jodi was a unique type of manager in that she really cared and advocated for her student employees. She explained to us how accuracy of transactions in an a-la carte system of food service can be difficult to maintain when student workers only receive basic training on the register. Students have to be incredibly attentive to which category/subcategory of food they are selecting and any mix-up can result in an incorrect charge. We discussed how accountability in a food service environment is incredibly important. If managers do not hold their students accountable to their training, we cannot blame the student for making mistakes. Jodi really supports system reform from the top down, and I agree with her. Excellence in management is essential to the life of a food service establishment.

Bursting with the enthusiasm and knowledge from our time with Julie and Jodi, Kyle and I wandered a door over to the office of Angie Erickson, Assistant Director of Purchasing.

The first striking information I received was that as an undergrad, Angie had herself majored in dietetics and had received her RD. I was thrilled to learn of yet another opportunity in Nutrition that does not involve clinical or medical nutrition therapy. While I am open to these opportunities, I like to know that there are careers in nutrition that involve teamwork and a chance to apply management and organizational skills acquired through a dietetics degree that do not involve working in a hospital. I like to have that kind of freedom and leeway in choosing a career path.


True to my belief that dietitians rule the world, Angie is the woman who makes the final call on where all of the food serving UW-Madison Housing/Dining comes from, interfacing and developing contracts with major food vendors such as US Foods, Belger, Martin Bros. and Reinhart. She develops monster packets of scoring systems to rate vendors based on their ability to meet established standards of operation at UW-Madison. For example, she evaluates whether or not they are available to deliver at specified times, packing specifications, and equipment furnishing requirements.

I of course, being a Slow Foodie and local/real food advocate was very interested in what role Angie played in moving Dining towards a more sustainable and local program. I told her about our efforts at UNH to integrate the Real Food Challenge into the dining program as well as the Slow Fish campaign. I will have a blog post later on to go over the information I gather on UW sustainable/local efforts once I've been here a few more weeks and have time to investigate. Angie said she may take up on a visit to the Apartment Complex on campus where, AMAZINGLY, a diverse community of gardeners produces approximately $380,000 worth of valuable food for families living in the community in their 581 community garden plots. Again, more on that later...

We later got a chance to meet with Carly Smith,  Purchasing Associate for UW Dining and invaluable
right hand lady to Angie.

Carly works alongside Angie to make sure that orders from the chefs and unit managers are received and sent out to vendors in a timely manner. Now only is Carly the timekeeper of this entire send-out process, but without her, it would be very difficult for Angie, the chefs, Denise, and everyone else to do their job. She handles paperwork and does the tedious work to make sure that all of the receivables match up with the original order, that short orders have been made aware to the chefs for proper adjustments to menus, and that special events are planned for ahead of time with a stock up of items. If the lights go out, Carly is to the rescue with an entire hardcopy book of every item in the dining hall which she can call or fax out to vendors manually.

We learned that Carly's work operates centrally, meaning that she does all of the ordering/direct contact with vendors and invoicing as one person. This avoids the confusion and chaos that would result if every unit manager had to make their own order. One order is placed, one PDF is sent to all vendors at the right time, and all is right with the world.

I was especially impressed with the electronic efficiency of the system. Every system in management operates and relies on  some kind of electronic system. It makes it far more efficient and everything can be done almost automatically. I am realizing that I might need some sort of IT experience when I get back to school!

With more of a feel for how Angie and Jodi worked together to get food into the establishment through purchasing and to get the food into the students through POS service, Kyle and I moved on to discuss Nutrition and Allergen information with Denise Bolduc, CBORD Manager and Registered Dietitian.

Denise and her lovely student assistant, Kate.

Denise's job entails a lot of work with the CBORD, a system which she uses to organize food and nutrition information via NetNutrition and Bartender (a labelling system for individual menu items). The first system helps her to input menu and nutrition information that she receives from the unit chefs in the dining halls and which students can access to read nutrition fact labels and allergen information on every item served in the dining halls.

Today we began working on our first project with the help of Denise and Unit Chef at Elizabeth Waters Dining Hall, Kevin Hoblit. We were trained on how to use the CBORD program to access Nutrition information on the database so that we could check items for potential allergens.

In the next few weeks, we will be helping Kevin to develop a menu for the newest addition to Liz Waters, a station that offers allergen-friendly options that excludes peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish and offers more gluten-free options in the dining hall.

I am incredibly grateful to the individuals who took time out of their busy schedules to offer us some insight into their responsibility and give us a picture of this complex organization. I am especially excited to continue work with Denise and Kevin on the menu project. This is really a great opportunity to freshen up my nutrition knowledge of allergens and wheat intolerance (aka Celiac's Disease), problems which are very important to consider not just in my academic life, but in any future career which involves serving food to a diverse group of customers.

Week 1 in Madison!

So I'm a bit new at blogging, but I will do my best to address all of my wonderful and exciting experiences and encounters here at UW Madison with plenty of detail. I might even try to be funny and witty, but we will see how that goes :)

My name is Leah, a New Hampshire native, and a rising senior in the Nutrition and Dietetics program at the University of New Hampshire. When I found out that I was accepted to the NACUFS internship, I was a little bit of every kind of emotion. Proud, nervous about leaving home, and excited. Now that I am here though, I am happy that I did not let my fears of leaving get the best of me. It sure is an amazing opportunity to be out here in Madison for the summer! I have never lived in this kind of urban environment and it is really mind-blowing! The city is so alive!

Tommy and I stopping for a pose in front of lake Mendota after a long journey!

The Journey from New Hampshire to Wisconsin!

After a 3-day, 1200 mile road-trip from my hometown in Derry, NH through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and finally Wisconsin, I spent my first few days on campus by exploring the city with my co-pilot and boyfriend. We got our exercise in on the rec trails that line beautiful lake Monona while exploring all of the unique food locations lining the campus shopping district on State Street. We shared a delicious meal at Diego's, and authentic Mexican joint and a morning coffee at Steep and Brew, a local coffee joint that serves up a great variety of locally sourced coffee beans. Madison is really a great city, and I am fortunate to call it home for the next 8 weeks!

Our internship coordinators Sue Olson and Mike Poehnelt have been very welcoming and gracious in getting us settled in the past few days. We met them on Sunday evening for a dinner at the lake-view Italian bistro, Paisans. They answered all of our questions, and we all got to know each other. They then made sure we had plenty of snacks to keep us well nourished for late nights and projects to come, with homemade goodie bags from Newell's deli, the dining location that Sue manages. We were also given our manuals that went over our project and what we would be doing each day. It was comforting to know that our coordinators had planned a comprehensive, challenging and fun program for us. We will be working to plan, organize, and execute a themed meal, create and present an employee training program on waste management, work with the unit chef to design a menu for an allergen friendly concept all while getting the chance to shadow all lines of production and management in the 6 dining establishments across campus.

Day 1: Monday

Kyle and I, model interns on our first day touring Carson's Gulley!

The first day of our NACUFS internship experience was exactly as to be expected, a bit crazy...a LOT smiles, handshakes and attentiveness. Kyle and I rose to the challenge! The day began with a parking maze trying to find a place to keep our cars for the summer. We learned that if we could conquer parking on the UW campus, we could conquer anything! We eventually made our way back to meet with our coordinators, Sue and Mike who guided us through campus to complete HR paperwork and get us set up for the busy 2 months ahead! For the rest of the morning and afternoon we spent the day touring the 6 dining establishments on campus that we will be working for each week.

The first was Carson's Gulley, the smaller of the dining halls on campus, but not the least! Carson's is directly across the street from our dorm on campus, Adams Hall, so we will be visiting there often. We did a walk through of the facility guided by Patrick Pawelski, Unit Manager of Carson's. He showed us around each food station explaining the model of each station and introducing us to the back of house. UW dining has been working non-stop the past few years remodeling and making changes which was evident in all of the facilities. Carson's, Four Lakes and Gordon (the largest facility on campus) have all been remodeled in the past few years, Rheta's is currently under construction and Elizabeth Waters Dining Hall is scheduled to receive renovations sometime in the next few years. Mike showed us some of the drawing plans for that project while Cathy Ness at Rheta's excitedly walked us through her remodeling and design projects in progress and design plans.

A welcome sign for groups!

Even just walking through the facilities, I learned quite a bit about what keeps the business running on a day to day basis. The big three I heard over and over were: traffic flow,space utilization/organization, and communication. All of the facilities were organized meticulously. Especially at Gordon and Four Lakes, the two largest dining halls on campus, there had to be  a designated space for everything: mops, employee uniforms, pots/pans, locks for each employee, a soda room, etc. There were even separate coolers/freezers for different types of production lines in the facility. For example, in Four Lakes there were two separate coolers with the same items that could not be intermixed (cold food central production vs. hot or daily service items).  In giving everything a space, it assured efficiency of delivery. I learned some about the way the facilities manage summertime vs. school year daily operations. They scale down many of their extra offerings, switching to a mostly all-you-can-eat (vs. a la carte) in order to cater to summer conference groups, athletics, and pre-college and international student groups.

The Great Green concept station at Four Lakes

Mark giving us the FL tour!

Layout design/traffic flow was another important lesson of the day. At Rheta's we discussed how many stations were being redesigned to make more sense. For example, moving lines away from work flow areas (i.e dishroom exits) and positioning food items in a sequential order (i.e burgers grilled before condiments). These were very important lessons, I realized that even small lapses in attention to detail could result in a stressful situation for workers as well as customers. I had to get used to the a-la carte/register design. At my university we have an all-you can eat meal system. I learned from Mark Gauthier, unit manager of Four Lakes, how this system is particularly useful for controlling food costs as each item can be assigned a value relative to market prices and easily altered as they fluctuate.

The gigantic dish room at Four Lakes! 

The UW Dining program is extensive, and we had the opportunity to meet and greet with everyone today as we made our way through the facility. It struck me to see the amount of teamwork and communication which must occur not only between managers but with every level of the ladder. We were introduced to student workers, supervisors, shipping/receiving/inventory people, administrative staff, chefs, custodial, maintenance and Denise Bolduc, the registered dietitian on campus. I am especially excited to work with her and learn more about how her expertise plays a role in dining.

The 1849 comfort station.

Did I mention the food was delicious? We stopped for lunch at Gordon after miles of trekking. I had a delicious salad from the Green concept station which offers "healthy, natural, wholesome" foods in a salad bar style and a fresh sandwich from the "DELIcious" concept. There were many stations to choose from including:  Qué Rico, a Mexican concept, Buona Cucina, Italian offerings, Deli-cious, a traditional deli with made-to order sandwiches, 1849, the "comfort-food" concept reflecting the establishment date of UW, and the coffee shop location known as the Bean and Creamery, a UW branded concept offering Starbucks coffee products and small food items. There were also plenty of Grab-n Go stations for students wishing to make a quick trip.


It was a long day and I may be on the verge of over-tiredness and introverted over-stimulation, but I eagerly await the lessons to be learned on this amazing opportunity, and the contributions that these experiences will have on my advancement towards professional life! August 1st seems years away, but I know it will fly by! I cannot wait to see where this journey will lead me. :)

Madison is SO beautiful! :)