This week I also spent some time in the panther plot. This is UNI's campus garden. It is very large and primarily run by students. It is very organized and they grow a variety of crops including tomatoes (purple and red), bell peppers (purple and red), spicy peppers, corn, zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, herbs, etc. The staff/volunteers et to take some produce and the rest goes to the dining halls to be incorporated in their recipes. I loved getting to spend the whole day in the garden, even if it was super hot! I love gardening!
We transplanted some plants, did LOTS of weeding, fertilized, picked crops, delivered weed/compost to the compost area on campus, and made sure the watering systems were ok. There were two other workers there while I was there. One of them was extending the height on the fence that encompasses the entire garden; the deer have been jumping the fence.
The final week, July 17-22, I was finishing some projects. Over the weekend, I completed and turned in the allergen venue menu changes project. It took awhile, but I was very happy with the result. I think the changes made the food more interesting for college students and brought more variety. Hopefully they will get good feedback this semester!
Another project I worked and and turned in during this week was a marketing promotion for the C-stores on campus. They are going to be offering some new sandwiches in the fall and Chris, the retail manager, wanted me to put together a package with some marketing options promoting the new options.
This was a bit of a stretch for me and pushed me out of my comfort zone because I am definitely not a marketing major. I also am not a graphic designer, but I was able to pull together 4 options that I was happy with. These included paper flyers and potential digital signs that could be used on TV screens in the bistro itself.
Another project turned in was the Prexy's recipe testing project. While I had my rotation there two weeks back, we did a grilled cheese recipe testing, including a multitude of different options with toppings and bread. I pulled together the testing report and rated the sandwiches base doff of feedback. I wasn't able to eat the sandwiches due to a dairy intolerance, but they received very positive feedback and I think the college students will love them!
I was also able to meet with Carol in employment services. She went over the hiring process, termination, discipline, union vs. non-union employees, budgeting, and their contract. It was nice to get a little HR information. Back home, I used to work in an office on WMU's campus, and am very familiar with budget information sheets, so this was familiar territory.
On Wednesday evening, I went out with pretty much all of the student supervisors for a "farewell dinner." It was very nice to kind of say goodbye to everyone and have a nice final dinner together. We went to Texas Roadhouse. It's a good thing that we all work in food service and are good to other food service workers, otherwise the waitresses might have hated having 24 of us. However, they said they loved us and were really fun!
Thursday was final evaluation day with Susan. I am very pleased with the feedback she gave and I received a certificate of completion from NACUFS. I have had such a wonderful internship experience. I can't even begin to explain how much experience this has given me. I think it will help immensely in the future in terms of preparation as well as my future dietetics internship and job as an RD. Thanks to UNI to being an awesome host school! I am very sad that this was the last year for the NACUFS internship.
I packed up the apartment and started loading my car on Thursday as well.
Friday morning started with a final meeting with Lisa, the dietitian and purchasing manager. I am so glad we were able to meet and go over her job in purchasing. This was very interesting to me. She covered pulling together bids and the deciding points for choosing one company over another (it's not just based on the lowest price). She also went over can cutting and other things she looks at when determining product selection.
After out meeting, I was on the road back home. It was bittersweet to be leaving, but it was nice to see family and friends in Michigan again. This little one gave me a very warm and excited greeting!
Thank you all for continuing to follow my adventures and learning experiences! It's been fun!
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