Week 4

This week has been very intense. On Monday I helped out with catering again. We were serving much less people than my first time and not everybody showed up to eat. Even though I get tired at the end of the day I really enjoy helping on these events. On Tuesday I went back to couch to make my Traditional Spanish Potato Salad for the event on Wednesday, but this time we made the vegan version. We took out the tuna and eggs and added black beans for protein. I thought it was a great version of the original recipe, I would even say I like it better. I also got ready for the business event on Wednesday. I prepared my presentation and started to get everything ready. On Wednesday I finished getting ready for the event which was held at Traditions East at 5:30 pm. I believe the event went really good. We didn't know how many people were going to show up due to the weather but at the end we had 17 people who came to eat and listen to the presentation. I really enjoyed talking to the students and letting them try a traditional recipe from my home country. After the presentation we realized about the tornadoes and hail that were going on and we had to stay and wait for the storm to go away. I ended up staying the night in Walker which I truly appreciated. On Thursday I met with Kevin Barker to do a sanitation assessment at Crossroads. I learned a lot from him and I was amazed on the great job they do there, especially considering the amount of food they serve 24 hours and the small place they have. In the afternoon I assisted to the managers meeting which was really interesting and I was officially introduced to everyone. On Friday I have a class day and I will not come to work.
I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Week 3

This week I have visited two different facilities on campus. On Monday and Tuesday I was at Cate. I met with Sharon Barker and worked with her team. They showed me how the facility works and I helped in anything they needed such as making sandwiches and helping with breakfast. On Wednesday and Thursday I was at Flying Cow. I met with Rhonda Winkelman who explained to me how the facility works and what her job as a manager consist of. It was very interesting to learn more about all the services that OU Housing and Food provides. Other than visiting these two sites, I also worked on some of my dietetic internship projects including the recipe development report and the business plan. 

This week was spring break and the campus was quite empty. I am ready for next week to be around people!

Week 2

This week has been very busy and interesting. On Monday I worked in a catering event at the Union for 12 hours straight. I helped setting up tables, plating the food, serving, among many other things. I have to admit that I slept like a baby after that! On Tuesday and Wednesday, Dot and I went to Couch to celebrate nutrition awareness and served the Korean food we served last week as well. Also, we talked to students about different nutrition topics such as benefits from eating different colors of vegetables and controlling portion sizes. Moreover, I started working on my recipe development which will be a Traditional Spanish Potato Salad. We made it at the couch' kitchen and tested it. Some staff tried it and it seemed most of them liked it so I was really excited because I understand different cultures like different foods. On Thursday and Friday I didn't come to work because all the OU interns were required to go to the OkAND Spring Convention. I really enjoyed the convention because I had the chance to listen to different speakers talking about various nutrition topics of great interest.

It has been two weeks working at OU Housing and Food and I have to say that I love it, specially because of the work environment. Everybody is kind and I have felt very welcomed. People is always ready to give a hand. Thank you for making me feel like home!

Week 1

Hello! My name is Marta Ferraz Valles. I am originally from Barcelona, Spain. I came to Oklahoma almost 6 years ago. I came directly to East Central University to play tennis, get my degree in Exercise Science, and learn English.  After that I went to the OUHSC to do a master in nutrition. I am currently doing my dietetic internship to become a Registered Dietitian. I will be doing the management rotation with Dot for the next 9 weeks. I have enjoyed the first week a lot and I am very excited to be here.

The first two days, and after filling out all the paperwork, I started to get familiar and work with the projects that I will be required to complete during these 9 weeks. As Dot told me, I am a very lucky intern because I have had the chance to spend my first week with Devon. She has explained many things to me during this week and I am very thankful. On Wednesday school was closed and I didn't come due to the weather. I could have come but I nobody knew it was not going to start snowing until late that day. On Thursday we had a nutrition awareness event at the Union where we served Korean vegan and gluten-free food to anybody that wanted to try. We had a board with nutrition information and the recipes of the food we served. People was very thankful and enjoyed the food very much. It took me a while to start pronouncing well the name of  the food but I did better towards the end. I enjoyed talking to the people about the food. On Friday I started working on my recipe development project because I will be serving this recipe during an event at the end of the month.

I can't wait to start meeting with the different staff and learn about the functioning of the department. It is my first time working in this kind of setting and I have a lot to learn. I am very excited. I have to admit that I love eating at Couch every day, the food is amazing! Thank you so much!

Week 9! last week :(

It’s my last day! It’s very sad to be done, but I know I will come back and visit!  This last week I was working on finishing up projects and working with the new intern from OUHSC, Marta.  I spent time with Marta explaining to her the different areas of work that I had been doing so she could become more familiar with things before I leave.   On Tuesday, I met with Marcia Musser to discuss my performance improvement project for Dot’s Deli.  We went over how the prep station was going and what can still be improved.  After my observations and the meeting I was able to complete a step-by-step process of what should occur when a customer has a food allergy for the deli operation.  On Wednesday, campus was closed but I still came in and did some work on the allergy action plan that Dot is working on.  Thursday, we were at the Union doing a nutritional awareness event.  We had a board with lots of nutrition information and included recipes of the food that we served.  We had three different Korean recipes to try, which were delicious.  I also became a lot more comfortable with speaking to strangers about the food and different information.  There was a lot of setup for this event getting it prepared and picking things up from the Couch kitchen.  Friday, I worked on finishing up everything and met with Dot to discuss my performance and growth over this whole process.

I have loved my time here; I have met a lot of great people and learned a lot about management.  There were a lot of different projects that allowed me to see the various aspects of management and what goes into everything.  I will use what I have learned here and apply it to my future.  I want to say thank you to everyone that has helped or spent time with me over these past two months.  Please keep in touch! 

Week #8

During week eight I was able to work a lot on my projects and also get out into the operations to see more about different aspects of food service.  Monday and Tuesday I worked on finishing my management review project and getting my in-service finalized.  Tuesdsay, I also met with Nancy De Graff, Director of Customer Relations and Assistant to Director of Housing and Food Services.  She went over what she does on a daily basis and how she organizes student’s meal plans.  I thought it was very interesting learning about the meal plan set up and how she makes it work in an efficient manner.  She also explained what goes into being an assistant to Frank Henry.  On Wednesday, I was with Dot Flowers in Cate setting up and serving Korean food for Nutritional Awareness.  We went over what the Korean food was and demonstrated to people how foods can be delicious even when they are primarily vegetables.  Everyone really enjoyed the food; I myself loved it and had two servings!  The board also looked great and attracted a lot of attention, which will hopefully help the students understand a bit more about nutrition and how to apply it to healthy lifestyles.  Thursday, I helped prepare and serve for a catering event in the Union for guest speaker, Tom Brokaw.  This event was very large and fun to work!  After the catering event I gave my in-service presentation to the managers and directors at the managers meeting.  I think it went very well!  Many people came up after and said they really enjoyed it and learned something.  I feel like I gained more confidence in my presenting skills after this presentation because people were interested.   Friday, I was with Gary Baker, the general manager, at Crossroads in the Union.  Gary was very detailed and informative about what he does.  I learned a great deal about management from him and what he does on a daily basis.  He explained how he got to this point and all of the tasks that he is responsible for.  He was also fun to spend the day with and see his excitement in his operation.

Over all, this week was very busy and went extremely fast!  I have enjoyed every day at OU Housing and Food because it is always something different.  I really feel like I have been able to see management from so many different aspects!