Last Thursday we had a great turn out as we welcomed Alexis Weisser and Renee Korczak as speakers for our October meeting. Here is a recap of the things they talked about, along with their contact information.
Alexis got married the summer after finishing her BS-nutrition and dietetics degree here at the U. She found a strong interest in foodservice her senior year, and was able to get a job at a senior living home in Maplewood that recently opened, for where she operates the kitchen full time as the dietary manager. The community is continually growing, and Alexis currently cooks 3 meals a day for 11 patients, > 62 years in age. She handles all the cooking, baking, budgeting, inventory, ordering and kitchen staff hiring. Alexis was able to find a mentor throughout the facilities opening process, a dietary manager from a different location, to help her with all these new experiences.
One of Alexis' favorite things about this position is the menu planning because it allows her to use her creativity skills. This position is rewarding to her because she is building relationships with the residents and they can be very complimentary. In addition, everyday is different for her, she gets to create her own menu and there is a lot of positive teamwork within the facility.
Alexis mentioned that developing thick skin is important for this specific and other positions dealing with a variety of people. She stressed the importance of focusing on the population you're dealing with to be able to understand where they are coming from, what they want and what they need.
Renee had a passion for food and nutrition at a very young age. She immediately saw how nutrition can make a difference in the lives of the people around her. She completed her undergraduate degree in Connecticut and had plans to go onto medical school. After these plans fell through, she got a job at Kraft foods where she worked on the development of low fat Oreos and created food labels. Renee went on the Grad school for a masters in nutrition from Boston. Here Renee volunteered with diabetes patients, was turned off by the medical school life and found passion for research, education and food. After her masters program, Renee started working for Nestle in regulatory affairs, where she labeled baby food and sports nutrition products while also working with dietitians in the call center. She found that food industry was a great and expanding place to work and when she connected with Joanne Slavin, professor at the University of Minnesota, Renee got involved in research and completed her PhD here while also completing her didactic internship through Iowa State. After being unsatisfied with going back to work at Nestle, she came back to MN to co-teach and create her own company - where she stands today!
Renee told us that experience is very important, and no matter where we work, we will be gaining transferable skills. She highly recommends finding a mentor and making connections everywhere you go.
Please feel free to contact both Alexis and Renee!
Alexis Weisser: lunde334@umn.edu
Renee Korczak: korcz005@umn.edu
