Student staff receive recognition, rewards
Feb. 26, 2018 — Kansas State University was one of 15 schools chosen by the International Foodservice Manufactures Association to receive financial awards in 2017. Five K-State dining services student employees were chosen by the association to receive IFMA scholarships, and one received an internship stipend.
Recipients of a $5,000 IFMA Education Foundation scholarship are Kyrstie Ehm, senior in dietetics, Kramer Dining Center; Chelsea Paul, senior in hospitality management, Kramer Dining Center; Isabella Skolout, senior in dietetics, Derby Dining Center; and Emily Troll, senior in dietetics, Derby Dining Center.
The International Gold and Silver Plate Society awarded a $1,000 internship stipend to Hannah Peterman, junior in dietetics, Derby Dining Center; and Alex Vonderschmidt, senior in dietetics, Kramer Dining Center.
According to IFMA, recipients were required to be near completion of their educational requirements in a "qualified culinary, marketing or food science" degree.
Although many of the recipients are majoring in dietetics, their passions for the field differ.
"I think I got interested in food and dietetics because I have a food allergy myself," Skolout said. "Once I learned about the dietetics degree, I decided that was really what I wanted to do."
Similarly, Ehm became interested in nutrition through her experience as an athlete. "I started working and gaining experience in dietetics," she said. "Food service and management were some of the areas I first found a passion for."
Vonderschmidt's role in dining services is with the Recipe and Development team, where one of his main jobs is to work with Dining Services Chef Jeffrey Maiden to create vegan and vegetarian recipes for the new Cultivate You menu line.
The only hospitality management student, Paul, found her inspiration from her parents. "My parents both managed restaurants when I was a kid, and it really made me interested in food service," she said. "I was originally interested in becoming a chef, but then I thought management sounded better. This is the best of both worlds; I get to cook and I get to manage."
Many of the recipients say the most memorable part of their job is the people they work with.
"All the staff there are really willing to answer questions to someone new and take time to help," Peterman said. "It feels like a home a lot of the time, not just a work place."
Troll agrees, "[The best part is] all the great people I've met and all the mentors I've gotten from dining services. It's just been awesome how much they've helped me grow as a leader and become a confident person," she said.
