This week we were with Maria in marketing helping out with Student Orientations! There were 2 different sessions this week, each one with a Day 1 schedule and a Day 2 schedule for both the students and the parents. Day 1 our job was to encourage parents to purchase tickets to a catered lunch and buffet dinner on campus. We helped answer their questions and promote the menu in the student union after they checked in and waited for their first program to start. We must have done a good job, because both lunch and dinner sold out! From there, we went to EMPAC to listen in on some of the speakers addressing various topics such as safety, academics, and food service for the parents. We listened to Matt speak about Sodexo, meal plans, retail locations, and all the other fun stuff involving the dining services on campus. After Matt’s speech we headed over to the Biotech Building where the catered lunch would be held for the parents after the rest of their programming. We helped with setting out the silverware, napkins, centerpieces, fruit plates, desserts, lemonade, and chips for almost 300 people! Once the parents came, we took their tickets at the door and guided them to their seats as efficiently as possible. We only got a glimpse of catering during this time, but we can tell it’s a lot of work. We were happy to get a small taste of it this week before we officially rotate to the catering department next week!
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| Setting up tables for the parent's lunch. |
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| 8 parents to a table. |
We got lunch at McNeil Room and got to see how the Beach Party Cheesecake Festival turned out. There were many different types of cheesecake and toppings offered for students and parents, as well as a live beach band playing for everyone’s enjoyment. Later in the afternoon we went to an info session for the incoming freshman students. We sat in on Maria speaking about Sodexo and dining plans, along with staff from Residence Life and the Department of Public Safety. It was similar to the presentation given to the parents earlier in the morning, but tailored for the students.
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| Smoked salmon wrap with sun-dried tomato pesto cavatelli from Evelyn's! |
For day 2 of orientation, we met at EMPAC for the resource fair. Multiple booths were set up for both the parents and the students to get more information on specific aspects of the first year experience such as athletics, healthy eating, Greek life, banking, and more. We were in charge of the dining services booth to provide information on various snack packages that parents can send their kids throughout the school year, the different meal plan options, and also MyZone--the area with restricted access for students with gluten, nut, or other allergies. We answered as many questions as we could for the parents and the students, and handed out healthy balance cookies, gluten free muffins, and more treats.
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| Karen, Matt, Caroline, and RPI student Barbara in charge of the food service table. |
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| Handing out healthy cinnamon oatmeal raisin cookies to students and parents. |
Thursday and Friday continued with the Day 1 and Day 2 of a new student orientation group. On Friday afternoon we received a shipment of Sodexo corporate promotion materials for the 2015-2016 school year. It contains all the resources needed to promote events on campus such as the Fall Al Fresco seasonal dining, The Ultimate Throwback theme, Cityscapes, and more. We brainstormed ideas for the Fall Al Fresco event such as the decorations in the dining hall, activities for students, the dinner menu, and the invitations. It’s so great that Sodexo can provide templates, posters, and promotional ideas for RPI. We wish we could be there in the fall to see how it turns out!
The weekend was filled with more exploring of the state!
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| Geyser in Saratoga Springs Spa Park spouting natural mineral water for people to fill up bottles with. |
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| Lake George boat tour. |
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| Bash Bish falls and trails on the NY-MA border. |
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