Week 7

This week was another event in the rock garden- the Look Local fair. Most of the week I spent prepping for this and assisting Ms. Dot wherever possible. The event showcased all of the local vendors that OU purchases products from. As you can probably guess, there was a ton of free food! And we even had giant pumpkins delivered for students to decorate and take home. The vegan zucchini muffins that I made last week were a hit and so were the "zoodles"- noodles made of zucchini and squash that were lightly sauteed and then tossed with a vegan pesto. Everything went wonderfully :). Afterwards, I was supposed to help with a Presidential dinner, but by the time I arrived, most of the set-up had already been done and the managers let me go since they had enough staff to help cater (which was awesome, because I was pretty tired from working at the fair all day).

Friday I started first thing at the Great Reading Room in the library- there was a luncheon at noon for visiting high school principals and counselors. I helped with set-up, service and break-down after the event. It was fun finally being able to see the entire process from beginning to end (since usually I only do two out of the three parts). It was a beautiful location and I learned that all of the books lining the shelves are actually theses written by former students. A very cool room and I can see why students would want to study there (also it looks very Harry Potteresque). I'm including a picture of it below!

Week 6

This week was another busy one mainly because of the 11 AM football game.

On Monday I worked on projects that I've been putting off for the internship (no worries, I'm caught up now).
Tuesday I went back to Crossroads and met with Mr. Baker in hopes that I could do my Performance Improvement Project with him. We discussed areas of Crossroads that he felt could use improvement, and together brainstormed how we could make the team even stronger. We came up with some pretty good ideas, and I'm excited to see them in action.
Wednesday was more office work but Dot gave me a fun project- I had to go to Couch and test out a recipe for the Look Local fair coming up next week. Thanks to everyone who helped me find the ingredients I needed as well as supplies!! I made vegan chocolate zucchini muffins. Yes, I got some questionable looks when I told people what I was making. But guess what? They were SO good! And healthy- for 9 muffins I only used 1/4 cup of agave nectar for the sugar component. Luckily a bunch of managers were on their lunch break at Couch so I had them try the muffins and the consensus was that they were delicious! Success.
Thursday I met with Shawn Henry, Director of Retail Operations, who kindly took time out of her day to tell me all about her job. It was really interesting learning how the retail operations differ from Couch. It was also fun to learn the future plans for OU when it comes to what retail operations may come.. or go. Thursday was also my in-service presentation at the weekly manager meeting! I taught about wellness, speaking about 14 tips to live healthier (mainly diet tips). I hope everyone enjoyed the presentation and learned a few new things!
Friday I spent at Couch prepping food for the game. I cracked over 500 eggs- all one-handed thanks to Chef Brock showing me the proper technique. I'm now a professional egg cracker. After that, Chef Brock set me up with a ton of raw alligator tail to chop up.. this took the rest of the day. Thank goodness Amberly came over to help me chop otherwise I would've been working on that gator into the night. And also shout-out to the Couch crew again for helping me find stuff and sharpening my knives and just in general making me feel very welcome!
Saturday was game day!! Spoiler- we won!! This game was at 11 AM though, which meant I had to be at work at 4 AM. This wasn't a problem until about the 2nd quarter, where my lack of sleep finally caught up to me. It was a fun shift and I did most of the same things I did at the last game- prep and bake pizzas, prep pretzels, slice over 40 pies, and just help wherever needed.

Another successful week!!

Week 5

We're passed the halfway point! Only four weeks left for me at OU!

Most of this week I spent working on projects, specifically my in-service presentation that I will present at next weeks meeting. It's coming along nicely but there's still some details I haven't figured out yet.

On Wednesday I spoke with Kevin Barker, Director of Business Operations about his role in the Housing and Food Services department. Mr. Barker was very helpful and answered any and all questions that I threw his way (as I am continually working on my Management Review report). It was interesting learning how a budget is created for such a large operation, as well as all the factors that must be considered. And in the end, it is still just a very, very educated guess.

Thursday was the Environmental Information Fair which was organized by Ms. Dot. The fair was in the rock garden, and we provided information to students about where their food comes from and definitions for common phrases that they may have heard but not completely understood. For instance, we explained the differences between things being labeled "organic", "natural", or "non-GMO". The best part of the fair was that the free food samples that we provided of all organic, vegan and allergy free food! It was SO good! There was a white bean 3-layer vegan dip, sweet potato hummus, Mexican brownies, and a delicious Earth Bowl salad with roasted corn, broccoli and candied pepitas.

As mentioned, the rest of the time I worked on assignments for my internship. Next week will be busier as we have another home game on Saturday!

Week 4

Apologies for the delayed post, but this week was very busy!

Let's start from the beginning- On Monday I tested my recipe for the Microwave Madness event at the end of the month. I made vegetarian bean and cheese enchiladas with added veggies, and they were a huge success! I asked some managers here at the office to try them and they were (I think) pleasantly surprised with the flavors.

Tuesday through Thursday I worked at Crossroads with manager Gary Baker. The first day, Mr. Baker taught me practically everything about his job. We talked for over 5 hours and he showed me all of the different aspects of his job. Needless to say, my brain was mush by the time I left that day. There was so much to process but I learned SO much and am very thankful he took a whole day to do that for me. Wednesday I worked as expediter in the restaurant. It was a busy day and the lunch rush was intense, but the day flew by and it was great having some hands-on food service experience. The whole crew was very welcoming and helpful, as well as fun to work with. I hope that I was able to help them by being expediter as much as they helped me! Thursday I was at Crossroads only 5 hours, as I had to go to help with the President's dinner with catering. Mr. Baker taught me the various programs he uses as a manager and gave me a brief overview of each of them. Then, as he was finishing up explaining CBORD to me, the power went out! For those of you that have not been to Crossroads, it is located on the 2nd floor of the Student Union which is underground. Everything went pitch black but Mr. Baker and his crew had emergency procedures in place for just this kind of event. His crew grabbed flashlights and began taking food down to the basement fridges and freezers in order to save as much as they could and not waste it. Shortly after this happened, I had to leave and assist with setting up the President's Dinner. I stayed through the dinner and worked with Robert Weaver as a server before calling it a day!

This Saturday was the first football game of the season and I worked with Danna in the 2nd floor of the suites in the kitchen/pantry. It was a a wild day! I worked 10 hours, which I was sort of dreading, but wow did it fly by! It was hectic and the energy was high, but everyone told me that it's just the first game jitters. I had a lot of fun making pizzas with Chef Steve as well as running supplies to the buffets and 4th floor. And OU won 41-3!! It was an awesome day and I can't wait til the next game! (Except for the fact that I have to be at work by 4am..)


Thank goodness it was Labor Day weekend so I could recharge before next week!

Week 3

Hey everyone!

Week 3 is over which means I'm already 1/3 of the way through this rotation. Time is flying by. 
This week I completed my Safety and Sanitation assignment while joining Kevin Barker on his assessment of a few of the restaurants in Couch Cafeteria. It was really great learning from Mr. Barker and seeing just how thorough his assessments are, down to the smallest detail which most people would overlook. During this time I also had the chance to meet a few of the managers and employees at the cafeteria so I hope I get to work with them soon.

This week I also had the chance to visit with Lauren and Amanda who are the Talent and Organizational Development team of HFS. I learned the jist about a lot of the things that they do, as well as got some much needed answers for parts of my Management Review report. Thanks ladies!

Office-wise, I worked on more reports and knocked out my Recipe Development report. I've decided on making vegetarian enchiladas for the Microwave Madness event next month! 

Next week I'll be working at Crossroads for three days and I'm not exactly sure what to expect, but I heard I'll be cooking some food so come by for lunch!!

Week 2

This week has been very busy! Monday and Thursday were both move-in days for all students. Just like last Wednesday, we had a table at the info fair with a ton of snacks. Thursday was the large move-in with about 2500 students! We were slammed most of the day and went through SO much food. I really though we would have a ton of leftovers, but we went through everything but some apples and oranges. 
Tuesday I had my first day at a restaurant on campus- Einstein Bros Bagels! I first met with the manager and she explained all of the different aspects of her job. I then worked in back of house prepping items like the parfaits, and then moved on to the front where I made some bagels as well as lattes. It was a little intimidating working with the coffee machine but luckily it was a slow morning!
On Friday there was a large luncheon on campus that needed some extra help, so Samantha and I joined the staff and helped where ever we could. We set the tables and got everything looking perfect before guests arrived. We didn't have to cater though since more staff showed up and the supervisors let us go. 

It was a busy week and I was pretty tired by the end, but I enjoyed all of it!

Week 1

Hi all! My name is Paulina and I'm Dot's intern for the next 8 weeks! I am originally from Poland, but moved to San Diego, CA when I was a kid. I went to San Diego State University where I earned my degree in Foods and Nutrition and then was accepted into OUHSC's dietetic internship program right after. I'll complete this program in February and then can sit for the exam- so I'll be a Registered Dietitian by March! I'm really excited to be here and I know I will have a very unique experience compared to other interns in my class who complete their rotations in hospital food service. Can't wait to see what I'll be doing!

In this first week alone I have learned so much- it's hard to keep track of it all. The first few days consisted of orientation and learning about the type of work I will be doing during my time here. It sounds like I'll be busy a majority of the time, which I'm really excited about! I'll be helping with a bunch of events and even football games, so it's going to be a crazy 9 weeks! I also met a lot of the staff here and everyone has been very welcoming and helpful. I was lucky enough to join Frank, the Director of Food Services, for a staff lunch at the UClub where I met supervisors from the various restaurants on campus. He was also nice enough to give me a tour of the campus, which I greatly appreciated since Monday was the first time I ever set foot here (this campus is HUGE!). Wednesday was move-in day for Panhellenic as well as room and board students. Dot, Amberly, and I had a table set up on the basketball court and we answered students questions throughout the day as well as gave out free snacks from our vendors. It was a long day but it was awesome being outside, meeting people, and talking about nutrition. Next week there are two more move-in days so we get to do it all again! The rest of the week I worked on projects and started brainstorming ideas for my recipe development assignment.

Almost forgot- I've been eating lunch with the girls at Couch and the food here is so good! I tried the double chocolate cheesecake today from the Sweet Shoppe and it was amazing. It's going to be a delicious 8 weeks here. And I should probably start working out..

All in all, this was an awesome week and it's only going to get better!