Hi, my name is Tamara Alleyne, and I am a region 3 intern located in Queens, NY. So far, I have completed my food service rotation at Société Générale in Manhattan, NY, and I am waiting to complete my last few weeks of clinical due to COVID-19. Dealing with COVID-19 has been both challenging and a learning experience. It has taught me to be patient and never give up. With my clinical site still closed to interns, I felt frustrated and defeated in the beginning, but always remember, when one door closes another opens.
During my food service rotation, I really enjoyed preparing and presenting a Valentine’s Day Heart Health theme meal for the employees. I am proud to say, the heart health information and meal prepared was well received. I made grilled chicken and shrimp tacos, black bean mango salad, Mexican slaw, pico de gallo, Mexican crema and a fun healthy twist on the traditional tres leches. Sodexo Group is launching a global corporate responsibility performance measurement and site improvement tool in April 2021. One of the six topic areas is Nutrition, Health & Wellness. I had the awesome opportunity of working with the team to develop best practices for general managers to use in order to make changes and improve their performance within their facility.
During my food service rotation, I really enjoyed preparing and presenting a Valentine’s Day Heart Health theme meal for the employees. I am proud to say, the heart health information and meal prepared was well received. I made grilled chicken and shrimp tacos, black bean mango salad, Mexican slaw, pico de gallo, Mexican crema and a fun healthy twist on the traditional tres leches. Sodexo Group is launching a global corporate responsibility performance measurement and site improvement tool in April 2021. One of the six topic areas is Nutrition, Health & Wellness. I had the awesome opportunity of working with the team to develop best practices for general managers to use in order to make changes and improve their performance within their facility.
I am currently in my community rotation with New York Enrichment Group. NY Enrichment Group is the largest & leading Health, Wellness, Nutrition & Education Group for all non-profit social service agencies in the tri-state & nationally. Through NYEG, I was able to work with the Police Athletic League (PAL) head start program with 3- 5-year-olds. I gained so much experience working with picky eaters all the way to overweight children. I had the opportunity to advise teachers on different techniques to encourage picky eaters to try new healthy foods and was fortunate enough to see those recommendations implemented.
I also had the opportunity to educate parents and teachers on Eating Healthy on a Budget virtually. So many believe eating healthy on a budget is impossible, but it is very much possible. I was able to provide the necessary tools and skills needed to make eating healthy on a budget a possibility for my audience. I am grateful to all my advisors and preceptors for their time, support, and the learning experience.
My advice to incoming interns would be to:
I also had the opportunity to educate parents and teachers on Eating Healthy on a Budget virtually. So many believe eating healthy on a budget is impossible, but it is very much possible. I was able to provide the necessary tools and skills needed to make eating healthy on a budget a possibility for my audience. I am grateful to all my advisors and preceptors for their time, support, and the learning experience.
My advice to incoming interns would be to:
- Never give up when experiences seem overwhelming.
- Breath, do not let your anxiety cripple you, you got this.
- Be open minded, be open to new experiences in nutrition.
- Do not procrastinate, aim to complete something every day.
