So it Begins!

June 8

Last night I arrived in the beautiful city of Lawrence, Kansas. It is the complete opposite of what everyone pictures Kansas to be like in more ways than just appearance and landscape. It is not one big flat field of farm land, there are actually plenty of trees and hills in this part of the state. From what I can gather from my initial impression Lawrence is a unique town with a lot of history, culture, and vivacity. My internship coordinator, Jim Schilling, confirmed this for me when we took a tour of Kansas University and the town this afternoon. He is very knowledgeable about both Lawrence the city and Kansas University where I will be residing and interning for the next eight weeks. I’m very excited to experience all that this internship has to offer and it makes it even better that I have amazing surroundings to explore and enjoy during my free time.

After settling into my dorm room in Hashinger Hall on Monday night, I spent the next day getting acquainted with some of the KU Dining Services Staff. In the morning I met with Jim, who manages the largest residential dining operation on campus, an all you can eat facility called Mrs. E’s, fondly named after Mrs. Ekdahl who began her KU Dining Services career in 1955. Jim and I discussed some details of the internship program, like my regular duties as well as the projects I will be responsible for throughout my stay. We also talked about my personal goals for the internship which mostly included increasing my understanding of the managerial aspects of the food services industry. Then I headed next door to Hashinger to meet with Julie Crowe, the Human Resources Office Assistant, to fill out some required paper work and get a brief overview of the hiring process for KU Dining. I really enjoyed speaking with Julie because she had some great insight into the ups and downs that come with working in Human Resources, such as the struggle to gain the trust and respect of fellow co-workers. After my introduction today it seems as though I will not need to every worry about being bored, because this internship will keep me on my toes all summer long.