UIUC Week One

Hi everyone! My name is Grace Gontarski and I am interning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this summer.  I am from Sacramento, California and will be entering my senior year as a dietetics student at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA this fall.  I arrived in Champaign Monday night by plane.  Travelling here was an all day adventure.  My preceptor, Robin, picked me up from the tiny airport (I think it only has one gate and one baggage claim carousel!) and brought me to my apartment on campus.  It was nice to just unpack and settle in Monday night.

 

 

My home for the next seven weeks!

 
 

 

Day One

My Tuesday began with signing some housing paperwork and learning about bus routes (since I have no car!).  After that, Robin picked me up and we went to Clark Hall where all of the Housing Administrative Offices are, including Robins.  Robin is the administrative dietitian on campus and a huge part of her job is dealing with food allergies.  I feel so honored to be able to work with her this summer!  Robin showed me around the different floors and introduced me to numerous people who I will probably eventually work with this summer.   They were all so warm and friendly and I am looking forward to working with them.  Next, we headed to Human Resources where final touches were put on some paperwork.  Once that was completed, Robin and I headed back up to her office and talked a bit about the different dining operations the university has and all of the different staff positions as well.  I was then sent to a computer to familiarize myself with the university’s dining website, and their nutritional analysis program called EatSmart.  EatSmart allows the public to access information on daily menus as well as each menu item that the university has to offer.  This information includes nutritional information as well as ingredients.  It is especially helpful for those who suffer from food allergies or those who have a restrictive diet.  Before lunch I was assigned an interesting project.  A summer camper who is coming in next week has a very strange and restrictive diet and it was my job to check the dining menu to see if there was anything being prepared that he might be able to eat.  If not, it was my job to make suggestions, and ultimately a possible menu for him.  His diet is like a three day cycle menu.  On day one he is only allowed to eat certain foods from a pretty short list.  Day two has its own list of foods, and so does day three.  Then he starts over on day one foods.  This was the most bizarre diet I had come across and it made for a challenging first project!  Lunch came soon and Robin and I headed to Ikenberry (one of the six dining halls) for recipe test tastings.  During the summer, the chefs test new recipes that they'd like to incorporate into the school year's menu.  I enjoyed everything that was made, but my favorite had to be the quinoa salad that had strawberries, asparagus, and fresh mint leaves.  After leaving the office, Robin was kind enough to take me on a little tour of Downtown Urbana and Champaign.  I enjoyed seeing more of the town and can't wait to venture out there more this summer.

Clark Hall

Day Two

Wednesday I reported to Clark Hall again.  Today I got to work alongside another dietetic intern at UIUC, Rachel.  It was so nice having her there to share ideas with and also to work on the projects with.  Together, we were able to tackle the challenging camper's special diet and we finished his menu.  Our next project required us to organize all of the university's summer campers that have food allergies into an organized spreadsheet.  I think that it’s great that UIUC puts so much time and effort into accommodating their guests with food allergies.  Before we could finish, we headed down to Ikenberry with Robin to set up a booth within the dining area so that incoming freshmen and their families attending orientation could swing by and learn more about U of I’s dining services.  Around 1 PM it was time to eat!  We headed over to another recipe testing and had a feast.  My favorite of the day was the gluten free peanut butter and chocolate no bake treat, while my least favorite had to be the bacon cheeseburger sushi roll. Yeah, a sushi roll with hamburger meat, cheese, and bacon.  It was weird.  I love that they're willing to take creative risks in the kitchen though!  After lunch Rachel and I finished the chart of the campers’ allergies and then researched different chronic dietary diseases.  I then spent the rest of my time researching ideas for my themed meal and possible gluten free recipes that I might try out in recipe testing. 

The booth we set up for families to visit during orientation.

Day Three

Thursday morning I attended a Meals on Wheels meeting at the Florida Avenue Residence Hall.  The staff at FAR is involved with preparing meals for MOW.  The meeting was to discuss the summer menu and other issues related to the operation.  I enjoyed the meeting and thought that it was very informative.  I was also excited to learn that both Rachel and I would get an opportunity to help develop some of the summer menus and that I will eventually spend about a week at this establishment to help out with the MOW operation.  After the meeting we headed back to IKE (Ikenberry) to man our dining services booth.  More people approached us today, but it was mainly to ask where the silverware was...  Some people did have relevant questions about food allergies and other related issues.  Even though I couldn't really answer the parents' questions that were related to their child's food allergies, I enjoyed listening to their discussions with Robin.  I continue to be impressed with the lengths that U of I Dining Services will go to accommodate students with special dietary needs. 

Day Four

On Friday, both Rachel and I reported to FAR at 9 AM to help out with the MOW operation.  We met with Beth and were given the first and second week menus for FAR. It was our job to see what we could use from that menu to serve to the MOW clients.  We were in charge of making a regular hot lunch menu as well as a modified menu which consisted of lower sodium options.  I really enjoyed this task.  I like making menus and analyzing the nutritional components of the food as well as the colors, textures, and combinations.  Next we headed over to IKE to man the dining services booth once again.  We seemed to get the most traffic today.  Maybe because we had delicious vegan pumpkin donut holes to pass out? There were many people asking about the vegan and gluten free areas today, and also inquiring about their child's dietary needs.  Like yesterday, I enjoyed listening to their conversations with Robin and the other staff.  I also loved that the chefs, Carrie and SooH wa, were happy to come out to meet the gluten free students and talk with their families.  I think that speaks volumes of the staff at this school.  They are not only passionate about their jobs, but they are passionate about the students they serve as well.  Towards the end of the workday I got to head over to the bookstore to get an official I-card! I can now clock in and out with it, but more importantly, I can now ride the bus!  

 

The first work week is officially over and I am exhausted (in a good way, though)!  I am already so excited for what next week has in store!