IFMA Scholarship Winners

Dietetics students receive scholarship from international foodservice organization

April 11, 2013 -- Three K-State dietetics students are recipients of a scholarship from the prestigious International Foodservice Manufacturers Association.

Christine Rogers, senior from Rockford, Ill., and Joel Morgan, junior from Wichita, Kan., each received the $5,000 IFMA Educational Foundation Scholarship. Nicole Wampler, senior from Overland Park, Kan., was awarded a $1,000 International Gold and Silver Plate Society Scholarship. The association chose K-State to receive the funds, as Housing and Dining Services Associate Director John Pence is a Silver Plate Award recipient and Associate Director Mary Molt is a Gold Plate Award recipient. A team of hospitality management and dietetics faculty then chose the winners based on IFMA criteria.

"Christine, Joel and Nicole have worked hard to make the most of their experience at K-State," said John Pence, associate director of housing and dining services. "These students took advantage of the resources available to them in the classroom and the dining center to learn what it takes to excel in the foodservice industry."

All three students work in various roles at Kramer Dining Center, and plan to use the skills they've learned there and through courses in the university's top-ranked dietetics program to begin careers in the food industry.

"My professors have taught me how to think critically about situations, questioning the way things work and learning to improve them for the better," said Wampler. "I've had a tremendous amount of opportunities in the kitchen, learning about how food is made and what equipment is needed. This will help me in any setting I go into as a dietitian, whether it be making a healthy, high-quality product suitable for kids or equipping others with the knowledge and skills of cooking."

IFMA is a leading foodservice trade organization that comprises more than 300 of the world's most prestigious food, equipment and supply manufacturers in the $600 billion foodservice industry.