Hey everyone! My name is Alyssa Newberry. I’m a region 10 intern, located just north of Houston, Texas. I initially chose to apply for the Sodexo Dietetic Internship because of its flexibility and the option to stay close to home. I had no idea that I would actually be completing a good deal of my internship from home! With the unprecedented situation created by COVID-19, I’ve had the opportunity to see just how flexible Sodexo and I can be. Fortunately, prior to working from home, I had time to complete my food service management and wellness concentration rotations.
I completed my food service management rotation at CHI St. Luke’s Hospital in The Woodlands. The Sodexo team at CHI provided such a strong foundation for the rest of my internship. I was quickly welcomed into the management team and given all of the support I needed to learn as much as I could. Because of my accounting background, I had so much fun working with the retail and marketing manager to determine the café’s average food cost, investigate the efficiency of the register system, and help implement some changes to improve reporting. The CHI team was and continues to be incredibly enthusiastic about working with me, as I have returned a few times to work with the CNM when she has bariatric outpatient appointments.
For my wellness concentration, I was able to work with a Sodexo Corporate account at The Friedkin Group, where they had never hosted a dietetic intern before. I helped the café meet all of the qualifications to become Silver Certified with the Mindful program and worked with the chef and general manager to provide a healthy cooking demonstration for the employees, which the client thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks to the relationships I built with the client during my wellness rotation, I was able to spend some extra time with the company providing one on one nutritional counseling to their employees. This counseling was promoted to employees as a limited time free benefit. And because I had the opportunity to see a handful of employees for initial and follow-up visits, I had the chance to see their progress and assess my own effectiveness.
At the end of January, I began my clinical rotation with HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe. I could not believe my good luck in being placed with another amazing group. They have already taught me so much and helped to build my confidence in my ability to complete nutrition assessments and give education in an inpatient setting. I can’t wait to get back to the hospital to finish out my time with them!
To all new and future interns, remember that even when there aren’t extenuating circumstances like COVID-19, it’s important to stay flexible and use your strengths to get the most out of each rotation during the internship!
I completed my food service management rotation at CHI St. Luke’s Hospital in The Woodlands. The Sodexo team at CHI provided such a strong foundation for the rest of my internship. I was quickly welcomed into the management team and given all of the support I needed to learn as much as I could. Because of my accounting background, I had so much fun working with the retail and marketing manager to determine the café’s average food cost, investigate the efficiency of the register system, and help implement some changes to improve reporting. The CHI team was and continues to be incredibly enthusiastic about working with me, as I have returned a few times to work with the CNM when she has bariatric outpatient appointments.
For my wellness concentration, I was able to work with a Sodexo Corporate account at The Friedkin Group, where they had never hosted a dietetic intern before. I helped the café meet all of the qualifications to become Silver Certified with the Mindful program and worked with the chef and general manager to provide a healthy cooking demonstration for the employees, which the client thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks to the relationships I built with the client during my wellness rotation, I was able to spend some extra time with the company providing one on one nutritional counseling to their employees. This counseling was promoted to employees as a limited time free benefit. And because I had the opportunity to see a handful of employees for initial and follow-up visits, I had the chance to see their progress and assess my own effectiveness.
At the end of January, I began my clinical rotation with HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe. I could not believe my good luck in being placed with another amazing group. They have already taught me so much and helped to build my confidence in my ability to complete nutrition assessments and give education in an inpatient setting. I can’t wait to get back to the hospital to finish out my time with them!
To all new and future interns, remember that even when there aren’t extenuating circumstances like COVID-19, it’s important to stay flexible and use your strengths to get the most out of each rotation during the internship!
