Summer 2013... NACUFS Intern Style!: University of Wyoming Week 1 ! :)

Hello everyone! So excited to finally post on everything that has been happening at University of Wyoming this week! My name is Claire and I traveled a long 1,350 miles all the way from Ohio where I attend Miami University. I was fortunate enough to be able to arrive a little earlier than my expected move in date. My mom and I arrived a few days early with time to settle in and explore the town of Laramie. The downtown has a lot of character and lots of great dining! So my mom and I got to explore the food here and it was delicious. After moving into my nice big room we took some time to explore the greenbelt path which was about a 3 mile walking path. It was great to get out and see the landscape. It is almost a whole new world here compared to back in Ohio.
Some fun facts about me:

1. I am Miami University's Udi's Ambassador this coming school year.
2. I enjoy figure skating, hockey, running, and all sorts of outdoor activities.
3. I love love love my cat Cheddar, and always miss her when I am away.
4. This is the farthest West I have ever traveled.
5. My favorite snack is carrots and hummus :).

On the road!

Part of down town Laramie (chilly&windy that day!_

The giant yummy salad my mom got at dinner!

Coffee from one of the local coffee shops! :) My bliss.

A really cool bike my mom and I found. (it had a mower on the front)

Gorgeous Greenbelt Path!

Day 1
After meeting my internship partner Emily we got to start our new adventure! We started off the first day meeting everyone around the office, handing in the rest of our work forms, and getting a tour of the campus by our internship director Amy Bey who is also the university's dietitian. Tom our other internship director took us out on a car tour of the town and took us to see Ames Monument, the Vedauwoo park, and the Happy Jack trails. After that I was so pumped to do some exploring during our free time! After exploring the town we continued to tour the catering building. We spent time talking with the employees and getting used to where we would be working in. We ate lunch with the staff at Washakie Dining Center which is where we will be having most of our meals and working in. I am really excited to see all the menu items especially because they offer a lot of creative vegetarian options!

Ames Monument!

Far away look from the Vedauwoos!

Up close look at the Vedauwoos!

Day 2
We started off the day going through HACCP training videos, and food allergy safety videos. After this we spent some time going over some procedures taken to keep the food safe and it's best quality to serve the students and staff. Emily and I got to meet with Roxi who is in charge of human resources within the Resident Life and Dining Services Department. We learned the hiring process, how to clock in, and what the consequences are if there are any problems. One topic we discussed which we wanted to learn more about was why some students never show up after their first day of work. It has become a slight problem, and it is hard to reach the student to figure out what could have improved to make them stay a staff member with us. I think a definite goal is to figure out some solutions to reduce turnover. Later that after noon Emily and I met with the health inspector. She was very helpful and she had a chance to explain to us what she does, and what the process is, and what she looks for. Then we got to go on a mock health inspection of the catering facility which was really helpful to do since we had a chance to speak up and point out things that could be changed or improved.

Day 3
We got to start CBORD nutrition! Which you all know is the most exciting thing! I'm only joking but it is very important to learn your nutrition data system and I was fortunate to have a little education on it from my past work experiences at Miami's Demske Culinary Support Center. I am really happy to learn more about the data system and how everything is connected in dining services. I hope to one day work with a system like this and master most of its functions. Later this day we met with Mark who is the chef in charge of the recipe creations for their upcoming dining hall Rendezvous. We got to learn the process of inputting recipes into the nutrition data system and looking at what and how much of ingredients you need for that recipe. Emily and I also got to attend a menu meeting with the Washakie dining management staff and make adjustments to the menu for the next couple of weeks of orientation.

Day 4
Thursday we began on a small project to re-do a bulletin board in the Washakie Center. Emily and I decided to focus on protein needs, and the importance of drinking water. We made sure to give resources of how to meet these needs in the Washakie Dining Hall. We went through a bit more of CBORD nutrition and I am trying to keep up with all of the material. After that we went to the freshman orientation with Amy and got to see how she deals with meeting with incoming students with food allergies. One of Amy's many responsibilities is to help students with food allergies or any concerns they have. After lunch we started working with Melissa on the vegetable and herb garden in front of the Washakie Dining Center. I was really excited for this since it's such a cool concept. We put down the compost which comes from Acres student farm. We actually found a old dried up, shrunken banana which was really fun to see.

Me with our bulletin board!

Day 5
TGIF! It feels like we have been here much longer than a week but this means we will be getting more and more hands on in the future weeks. This particular morning we went to the student resource fair and helped pass out cookies and information on res life to students and parents. Amy got to speak to a couple of students about food allergy concerns and it was really fun having a chance to be interactive with the student population. After the resource fair we did some more detailed touring of the union center. We through some more CBORD material and then attended a US Foods tasting where they were tasting deli meats and cheeses for one of the new dining concepts. I didn't try much since I have been a vegetarian since high school but I tried some yummy cheese and we got some aprons! After lunch we continued to work on the garden with Melissa and we finally have all our vegetables planted. Fingers crossed! As for the weekend I plan on volunteering at Acres farm and doing a little bit of exploring!