Week Four at University of Georgia

I can't believe that the internship is already almost halfway done. Time is definitely flying and I'm trying to make the most of every day by learning as much as I can and enjoying the dynamic atmosphere that Athens has to offer.
One of my favorite highlights so far about the town is the game board cafe known as Rook and Pawn. Erin and I went for the first time last weekend and marveled at the hundreds of board games they had to play.

Board game galore

Local artwork

On Monday, we had the pleasure of sitting in on the first day of the Manager Academy, held by one of our coordinators, Craig. Craig shared many valuable, important points about what it means to be a manager not just in UGA food services but in all fields. He discussed what leadership really means, such as guiding and inspiring employees, as well as encouraging teamwork and being a people's person. Another key point was to show rather than tell people what to do, as well as be aware of details and always have a goal in mind. He also discussed the different leadership styles that managers utilize, whether it be authoritative or more laid-back. Lastly, he discussed different leadership techniques such as empowerment, motivation, delegation, participation, and feedback. At the end of the day, Craig went over several important policies that the managers needed to keep in mind. Afterwards, Erin and I had a meeting with Craig to discuss our presentation based on customer service.

The next day, Erin and I worked with the catering department to set up the orientation breakfast for the upcoming freshmen and their parents. Afterwards we met with Candice, who is the events coordinator, who told us about her role in the department. She also showed us the software she uses to keep all of the events' details organized.

Freshmen orientation breakfast. Looks good, right? :)

On Wednesday, we had a very early morning (5am early) so that we could shadow Brian and Josh who work in the stockrooms at the Bolton Dining Hall. We got to learn how their inventory system works and do some inventory ourselves then put it into the system. We also saw a couple of different orders coming into the dining hall and how the team takes the temperature of the food before bringing it to where it needs to go. I liked this day because the stockroom team keeps everything organized and are very receptive to the needs of the dining services team.

Erin getting ready for the freezers

On Thursday, I had the opportunity to shadow one of the assistant managers at Bolton, Henry, and he showed me different opening tasks, such as turning on the lights, opening the doors, taking attendance, and setting up the dining stations so that they would be ready for the customers. He also showed me how he assigns the employees to different stations and moves them around if he needs to. We also did payroll to approve of the employees' hours, making sure that their hours were correct based on whether they are full-time or part-time. Since Thursday was my birthday, the bakeshop created a special treat for me!

It wasn't just completely awesome looking, it was also delicious!

That night, Erin and I went to the Georgia Museum of Art as they had free admission and music playing.

Georgia Museum of Art

Lastly, on Friday, I shadowed Adam, one of the managers at the Village Summit dining hall. He also showed me his opening duties, as well as how to complete the schedule. It was definitely complicated business trying to figure out how many student employees they would need to hire for the upcoming school year but I enjoyed watching Adam create spreadsheets with different formulas to help estimate the amount of needed workers. We also did two rounds of the kitchen in which he checked the sink's pH level of sanitation, as well as any mislabeled items in the coolers, personal items in the drawers, any equipment that needed further cleaning, and everything else that a health inspector would look for.

For the weekend, Erin and I checked out the Athens Farmers Market which had beautiful produce and plenty of handmade goods. We enjoyed delicious sandwiches from one of the food trucks at the cart as well as amazing coffee from Thousand Faces Coffee. We also hiked around Lake Herrick that afternoon.