Work Experience
Diet Tech III: Intermountain Medical Center (IMC)
Reflecting on my Clinical Nutrition classes at BYU, I remember learning about the Renal and Diabetic diets and feeling a lot of empathy. Working as a Diet Tech in the hospital, I see the effects of the diets on real people and see how hard it is to follow sometimes.
At work, I complete a variety of tasks each day. While the majority of my time is focused on extraordinary patient care, I also order necessary floor stock for three to four dietary rooms, clean four soda machines, gather and enter patient menus into a program called Computrition, check to make sure the diets are within the recommended restrictions and conduct initial screenings and assessments from about five to sometimes twenty patients per 10-hour shift. The job is very time-oriented, so it is important to be organized and have time-management skills to be successful.
Within a few months of graduation, I helped my parents clean their home and prepare them for an 18-month mission to Ohio. I also moved to a new city, found an apartment, started this job, and helped my older sister plan her wedding, which would happen three months later. It sure was a busy time, but very exciting and I learned that I can handle much more than I thought I could.
Reflecting on my Clinical Nutrition classes at BYU, I remember learning about the Renal and Diabetic diets and feeling a lot of empathy. Working as a Diet Tech in the hospital, I see the effects of the diets on real people and see how hard it is to follow sometimes.
At work, I complete a variety of tasks each day. While the majority of my time is focused on extraordinary patient care, I also order necessary floor stock for three to four dietary rooms, clean four soda machines, gather and enter patient menus into a program called Computrition, check to make sure the diets are within the recommended restrictions and conduct initial screenings and assessments from about five to sometimes twenty patients per 10-hour shift. The job is very time-oriented, so it is important to be organized and have time-management skills to be successful.
Within a few months of graduation, I helped my parents clean their home and prepare them for an 18-month mission to Ohio. I also moved to a new city, found an apartment, started this job, and helped my older sister plan her wedding, which would happen three months later. It sure was a busy time, but very exciting and I learned that I can handle much more than I thought I could.
BYU Catering (1000 hours)
(550 hours in leadership positions)
From 2010 to 2013, I worked for BYU Catering, and was promoted to Captain status for the last few years. Starting off as a Wait Staff, I never expected to become a Captain and lead the team through an event, but I enjoyed the challenge and learned so much about leadership through the promotion.
Catering Experience: BYU Football
After working football as a Wait Staff one Fall semester, my manager asked me to come back the next Fall as the Captain of that area. Working football events are actually quite fun for a Wait Staff, but can be stressful for the Captain. I had never seen an invoice longer than two pages before, and there I was staring at 20 pages or more... and I was expected to gather and organize the needed materials for every home football game. I jumped right in and did my best to create the best experience for my customers and the 12 Wait Staff I directed. The first game is always the longest, since this type of event is not something we are normally trained for. At first, we took about 10 hours, but as a team, we got faster with set-up and clean up and ended up finishing in nearly 8 hours. As my delegation skills improved and as the crew became comfortable with the event, we were successful in serving the customers of the 2nd Floor Loge. I ended up as Captain the next year as well and indeed, I must say, I enjoyed every moment.
(550 hours in leadership positions)
From 2010 to 2013, I worked for BYU Catering, and was promoted to Captain status for the last few years. Starting off as a Wait Staff, I never expected to become a Captain and lead the team through an event, but I enjoyed the challenge and learned so much about leadership through the promotion.
Catering Experience: BYU Football
After working football as a Wait Staff one Fall semester, my manager asked me to come back the next Fall as the Captain of that area. Working football events are actually quite fun for a Wait Staff, but can be stressful for the Captain. I had never seen an invoice longer than two pages before, and there I was staring at 20 pages or more... and I was expected to gather and organize the needed materials for every home football game. I jumped right in and did my best to create the best experience for my customers and the 12 Wait Staff I directed. The first game is always the longest, since this type of event is not something we are normally trained for. At first, we took about 10 hours, but as a team, we got faster with set-up and clean up and ended up finishing in nearly 8 hours. As my delegation skills improved and as the crew became comfortable with the event, we were successful in serving the customers of the 2nd Floor Loge. I ended up as Captain the next year as well and indeed, I must say, I enjoyed every moment.
Pictured on front left- myself
Sensory Analysis Lab (300 hours)
My experiences in the Sensory Analysis Lab were quite enjoyable, with strengthening office skills, organizing paperwork, money requisition and labeling. Microsoft Office became my best friend when I figured out I could use Publisher to help me create a bulletin board for the Food Science major. I had conversations with our clients who were already working in food science and strengthened my relational skills. I feel competent in setting up my own taste testing panel from my experiences in this lab, which might come in handy in the future.
My experiences in the Sensory Analysis Lab were quite enjoyable, with strengthening office skills, organizing paperwork, money requisition and labeling. Microsoft Office became my best friend when I figured out I could use Publisher to help me create a bulletin board for the Food Science major. I had conversations with our clients who were already working in food science and strengthened my relational skills. I feel competent in setting up my own taste testing panel from my experiences in this lab, which might come in handy in the future.
Culinary Support Center: BYU Bakery (260 hours)
Working "behind the scenes" of food service is hard work. I worked mostly in the front of the action for some time, and I was curious about what happened before the food came to my area to be served to the guests. I was trained, one-on-one, by a pastry chef and developed skills such as base icing sheet cakes and the art of eclairs (piping, baking, filling, and then frosting them). At the bakery, I was in charge of creating delicious pastries, preparing for the next day's orders, and occasionally delivering products to customers. Here I learned how to work with large machinery while following recipes to make batches of products like cornbread muffins and pie fillings. I thought I understood "mass quantities" of food, but I didn't really grasp it until I worked here. It was quite an experience, and I realized many things I learned in my coursework applied to this job. I was glad I learned about repetitive movement injuries (RMI's) and safety in mass food production settings before I came to this job. From slippery freezer floors and gas stoves to large mixers and ovens, I'm sure I prevented myself from injury many times.
Working "behind the scenes" of food service is hard work. I worked mostly in the front of the action for some time, and I was curious about what happened before the food came to my area to be served to the guests. I was trained, one-on-one, by a pastry chef and developed skills such as base icing sheet cakes and the art of eclairs (piping, baking, filling, and then frosting them). At the bakery, I was in charge of creating delicious pastries, preparing for the next day's orders, and occasionally delivering products to customers. Here I learned how to work with large machinery while following recipes to make batches of products like cornbread muffins and pie fillings. I thought I understood "mass quantities" of food, but I didn't really grasp it until I worked here. It was quite an experience, and I realized many things I learned in my coursework applied to this job. I was glad I learned about repetitive movement injuries (RMI's) and safety in mass food production settings before I came to this job. From slippery freezer floors and gas stoves to large mixers and ovens, I'm sure I prevented myself from injury many times.