Week 4: Northern Michigan University

Week 4: Northern Michigan University

After a rather rainy weekend, I was looking forward to a brand new week of work. Monday was extremely busy, and I don’t think I sat down for more than 30 minutes! There was a MAFCA convention (Model A Ford Club of America) going on in the same building as all of the dining offices, so the University Center was packed. When it was time for lunch, a few of us were asked to help out with the Wildcat Den dining hall because of how hectic it was. After things settled down and we filled our bellies, we were informed the chefs needed some help in the kitchen preparing for a catering event, which was scheduled for that evening. So we were in the kitchens for a bit learning novel vegetable chopping techniques.

On Wednesday, Robin and I toured the US Olympic Education Center, or USOEC, located right next to NMU. The USOEC teams up with NMU to train students and educate them at the same time. Apparently not all Olympic trainees attend college, so the program is extremely beneficial. The USOEC in Marquette trains for freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, speed skating, and weightlifting. Robin and I had the opportunity to watch a weightlifting practice and we were both thoroughly impressed!

On Friday, the MAFCA convention was still going on, and NMU was catering their last dinner at the USOEC. They were a little short-staffed, and I was interested to see how the catering events were, so I stopped by to see the production. The outside of the track was lined with some of the best Model A’s, and the dinner took place on the inside of the track. Mr. Ford (not sure which one) was a guest speaker, but I was long gone by the time he addressed the crowd. It was very rewarding to be at the catering events and hear some of the compliments the MAFCA attendees had for NMU Dining.

On Sunday, Robin, her two assistants Billy and Emily, and myself headed to Guindon Farms, a local farm that was hosting a tour for the community. The farm was completely organic, and their beef was 100% grass-fed. We learned not only the nutritional benefit to eating organic, but also the environmental benefits as well. The tour was somewhat short but comprehensive, and I look forward to learning more on our upcoming farm tours.