Hi everyone! My name is Jackie Iannone and I am part of the New Bedford Campus in Massachusetts. I am also apart of the MS program through the University of Rhode Island, which is actually where I completed my undergraduate degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. I am extremely thrilled to be a part of such a renowned internship program where I have continuous challenges and learning opportunities that fuel my passion for this field.
My first rotation was Food Service Management where I was determined to create a retail project that was slightly “out of the box.” I planned my idea out so that it would be creative yet still popular with the population I was serving. I wanted to come up with a theme that was both informative and interactive for customers during their dining experience.
The event was based off of the set-up of the Avenue of States, one of the main attractions at a large festival held in Springfield, Massachusetts, called The Big E. The idea was to have a fun and interactive type of event where customers could navigate each station and learn a little bit about each of the New England states while they got their lunch and dinner. Each station in the cafeterias were set up to represent one of the New England states with recipes that represented the agriculture of the state.
My experience with this project was incredibly eye-opening to the amount of work that it takes to set up an event and run a complete menu. I was offered the wonderful experience to coordinate with all four of the Southcoast/Sodexo hospitals (and business center) sites in the area. I learned great negotiation, organization, and coordination skills from all of the managers that I worked with. I was able to sit in on conference calls, pitch my ideas and visions for the project, and even “manage” the pricing, decorations, and details for each of the sites. I worked closely with the marketing team at the hospitals to distribute my materials to each of the sites and help with the advertisement of the event.
So far, I have completed my food service management and basic clinical and I could not be happier with the amount of knowledge I have gained within such a short period of time. All of my preceptors have been both supportive and welcoming. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and to further my studies in this fabulous field and am eager for the opportunities to come!
My first rotation was Food Service Management where I was determined to create a retail project that was slightly “out of the box.” I planned my idea out so that it would be creative yet still popular with the population I was serving. I wanted to come up with a theme that was both informative and interactive for customers during their dining experience.
The event was based off of the set-up of the Avenue of States, one of the main attractions at a large festival held in Springfield, Massachusetts, called The Big E. The idea was to have a fun and interactive type of event where customers could navigate each station and learn a little bit about each of the New England states while they got their lunch and dinner. Each station in the cafeterias were set up to represent one of the New England states with recipes that represented the agriculture of the state.
My experience with this project was incredibly eye-opening to the amount of work that it takes to set up an event and run a complete menu. I was offered the wonderful experience to coordinate with all four of the Southcoast/Sodexo hospitals (and business center) sites in the area. I learned great negotiation, organization, and coordination skills from all of the managers that I worked with. I was able to sit in on conference calls, pitch my ideas and visions for the project, and even “manage” the pricing, decorations, and details for each of the sites. I worked closely with the marketing team at the hospitals to distribute my materials to each of the sites and help with the advertisement of the event.
So far, I have completed my food service management and basic clinical and I could not be happier with the amount of knowledge I have gained within such a short period of time. All of my preceptors have been both supportive and welcoming. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and to further my studies in this fabulous field and am eager for the opportunities to come!
