So Students

Read Our Stories

So Students

Read Our Stories

Our Stories

Internships involve challenging opportunities, real world projects and face to face interaction with our guests. It’s a fantastic opportunity to gain hands-on experience and be part of an innovative team. Read some of the stories below to find out what your day could be like as a So Students Sodexo intern.

Are you a current Sodexo intern? We’d love to hear about your experience, tell us on the Campus Intern Survey.

Tina Reddington, National Manager of Wellness and Nutrition for Schools and Universities

Where is your hometown?

I live in Harpers Ferry, WV but I grew up in Annandale, VA. Tina Reddington

Where did you go to college?

I attended the University of Maryland at College Park.

How do you become a Campus Intern?

I was an intern with Virginia Tech and there was an opportunity to do my community rotation at George Mason University and it was close to home so I took the position.

What was the best part of your internship?

At GMU I organized a full health fair with a walk to wellness theme where students followed the footstep path on the ground and stopped at stations with fresh fruit, healthy spices and goodies from our contracted vendors. It was a huge hit!

How did Sodexo recruit you?

The District Manager at GMU convinced me to apply to a position at American University and I have worked in different segments throughout my career.

What is your role at Sodexo now?

I am the National Manager of Wellness and Nutrition for Schools and Universities.

What is your favorite part of working for Sodexo?

The ability to learn new skills and grow in your career in different work environments.

Do you have any advice for Interns?

If someone asks you if you want to do a project that is out of your comfort zone, grab the chance! Diversify your skill set to make you more marketable and grow your knowledge of the business.

Agnes Nkansah, Marketing Intern-Brandeis University

What is your area of study?

International/Global Health Administration
Agnes Nakansah

What are some of your responsibilities as a Sodexo Marketing Intern?

I engage with the student body through social media accounts and capturing moments with students and the Brandeis Dining team among other things. This internship has allowed me to understand the importance of effective communication whether it be through posts, emails, or one on one conversations. Week to week I am tasked to keep up with momentum of all this industry entails, in addition to appropriately adapting and communicating these changes to our student body.

What have you learned during your internship and how can you apply it to school or in a career?

Through this internship I’ve come to learn the difference in academic writing and everyday communicative tools, which are not taught in the classroom, how to effectively grab someone's attention and relay a message with very few words. Brandeis Dining serves thousands of students, and manages a number of workers daily and I have been in the midst of ever changing menus, new ideas, locations and colleagues.

Since starting at Sodexo I have gained more confidence in myself professionally, while pursuing my bachelors degree in International and Global Studies and Health Administration. I believe this internship has and continues to help me apply the academic work I am doing to the real world, in the field of Business and Health Administration.

Kristina Redmond, Dietetic Intern-Merrimack College

About Me-

I have been passionate about food for as long as I can remember, but during college I became more passionate about health and wellness. The start of college is the start of independence and making your own decisions. I became more conscious about what I was putting into my body and the health benefits of different foods. This sparked my current passion and career path in nutrition. I believe health is a major component of overall well being throughout the lifespan.

What do you enjoy the most about your internship?

What I enjoy most about working in dietetics is the opportunity to spread my knowledge of nutrition to help improve the lives of others. Dietitians play an important role in disease prevention and maintenance. Every day I feel like I am making a positive impact in people’s lives. From conducting diabetes education to running a infuse your own water hydration station, there are so many ways to educate people on nutrition. Dietetics is such a diverse field; you can never get bored!

What are some of your responsibilities?

As a dietetic intern, I am responsible for partaking in the role of a RD with the support of the entire food service staff. I have been responsible for seeing patients, charting, and communicating with the entire healthcare team. I have also been responsible for leading health and wellness events. This is a unique opportunity and have gotten my best foot forward by asking questions and getting involved.

What is your favorite accomplishment?

Thus far, my favorite accomplishment has been confidently filling the role of a clinical dietitian during staff relieve. It was a part of clinical I was always apprehensive about however, I learned so much during my basic, intermediate, and advanced rotations. I could not believe how much I learned and improved in four months. These rotations built my knowledge and confidence so by the time staff relieve hit, I was more than ready to take on the role of a RD.

Would you recommend the internship to others?

I would recommend the Sodexo internship program to any aspiring RD’s. The program is unique because it gives you the capability to achieve all of the necessary competencies in a very individualized manner. There are multiple concentrations in which you can decide what area of dietetics to gain more experience. Although it is a regional program, there is constant support from the directors, preceptors, and peers to help you along the way!

Meghan Keenan, Sodexo Dietetic Intern

About Me-

After graduating from UConn with a BS in Nutritional Sciences in 2018, completing my Masters in Nutrition and Health Promotion at Simmons

this spring. I am completing my clinical hours and concentration at Winchester Hospital, MA. My dietetic concentration is critical care MNT. I hope to work as a clinical dietitian after completing my internship.

Tell us about your passion for health & wellness. What do you enjoy most about working in dietetics?

My interest in nutrition and dietetics stemmed from my own personal experiences with a Dietitian. I decided to become a vegetarian at a very young age and my parents took me to a Dietitian to learn more about my nutritional needs, sources of key nutrients, and vegetarian options. What I love most about working in dietetics is interacting with the patients and creating individualized nutrition recommendations to fit their diagnosis, nutritional needs, lifestyle, etc. Every patient has their own story/background, each with their own barriers to good nutrition. It always keeps me on my toes!

What are your main responsibilities as a dietetic intern?

As a dietetic intern in a clinical setting, my responsibilities include screening patient’s nutritional risk and making appropriate nutrition recommendations to improve their quality of life. This involves interacting and collaborating with other members of the healthcare team (i.e. MD, RN, SLP, CM) to assess the patient’s needs and determine the overall plan of care.

What’s been your favorite accomplishment so far in your internship experience?

So far, my favorite accomplishment has been orchestrating a family meeting on my own to conduct a nutrition education. I had a patient with learning disabilities, who was recently diagnosed as diabetic. My goal was to educate family and group home members on a diabetic diet because the patient was not in charge of his own meals. Overall, I felt every participant learned something from that meeting and most importantly, we all came together to support the patient.

Would you recommend the Sodexo internship program to your peers? If so, please share why.

The Sodexo Dietetic Internship program has been a wonderful experience for me, thus far. It has allowed me to explore all areas of nutrition, enhance my intrapersonal skills, and expand my professional network. What I love most about this internship is the flexibility and reassurance it provides me; my director and preceptors have been so encouraging and supportive during this process. They really push me to take every opportunity that presents itself to me. I would definitely recommend this internship to aspiring RDs!

Nyatasha Jackowicz , Marketing Intern-Bryant University

Nyatasha Jackowicz is a Senior and a Marketing and Social Media intern at Bryant University majoring in Marketing.

Day to Day Responsibilities

Social media engagement
Designing and creating content for marketing materials
Planning promotional events and covering them on social media

Achievements

Creating Snapchat filters for the Bryant Dining Staff. We were able to create a filter for a Thanksgiving themed meal and it turned out to be a huge hit. Snapchat allows its users to see the metrics post event and it was refreshing to see that it was well received by the students.
Completing my internship! Bryant Dining has given me one of my most rewarding internships to date. Upper management has helped me grow as a student and as a worker and I am very grateful for all of the opportunities I've been given in this position. I would definitely recommend this internship to my peers because of the supportive environment and the learning opportunities.

Phoebe Smith, Sustainability Intern-Marist College

Phoebe Smith is a senior, sustainability intern at Marist College.

Area Of Study

Business Marketing and Environmental Policy

Achievements

Helped Marist Dining to apply for and achieve 2-Star Green Restaurant Certification at North End Dining
Successfully launched the "Clean Plate Club" campaign during Sustainability Week where guests received coupons for campus retail locations
Re-launched a revamped Lean Path Food Waste program in Main Dining Hall which included training the dining management team on the benefits of the Lean Path system

Proudest Moments

Seeing the usage of the Lean Path program grow to collect over 5,000 pounds of pre-consumer waste in 2019
Achieving 2-Star Green Restaurant Certification at North End Dining in 2019, with a goal in 2020 for 3-Star certification

Joseph Robinson, Marketing Intern-Winthrop University

Joseph Robinson is a integrated business communication and marketing major at Winthrop University. Some of the things that Joseph feels are critical to success are:

Effective social media advertising involves a personal online presence.
By bridging the gap between social media and personal communication you build trust.
Look for those on social media that have a high engagement rate to identify "campus influencers" and connect with them to create relationships.
Look for commonalities, such as leading a Vegan lifestyle, to help get out targeted messaging through your influencers.

Gina Svab, Marketing Intern- Gonzaga University

Area of Study & Expected Graduation

Gina Svab Public Relations Major, graduating May 2022

What are some of your responsibilities as an intern?

My main responsibilities as an intern include providing support for the Zagdining marketing team, making signage to go up on campus, and updating students about what's going on with food service through social media!

What’s your favorite accomplishment as an intern?

In the fall semester I created a "certified food lovers" poster, modeled after Drake's album Lover Boy. The poster was posted in our cafeteria and got a lot of compliments from students and staff, so much so that people were offering to buy it! A few weeks later me and the other interns hosted a raffle in which we drew 3 names out of almost 700 entries, to win a poster.

What have you learned during your internship that you can apply to your future career?

Along with working with new programs and tools, I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work in the team setting to reach deadlines. I believe that this skill is something can be applied to not only my future careers but in all facets of my life!

Mina Robinson-Gonzaga University – Marketing Intern

Area of Study & Expected Graduation

Mina Robinson Business Major concentrating in Marketing, Minors in Digital Marketing and Fine Art, expected graduation May 2023

What are some of your responsibilities as an intern?

As an intern, I help with running our ZagDining social media pages. I have helped create posts about different promotions and work we do with KiwiBot. I have helped with our Win It Wednesday posts which are some of our most popular posts and tabling for events.

What’s your favorite accomplishment as an intern?

One of my favorite accomplishments as an intern was designing a holiday themed hand sanitizer label for Cram Jam. Cram Jam was an opportunity for students to grab goodies during finals week and I had the opportunity of designing a “hand SANTA-tizer” label. It was something I was not expecting to get to do as an intern and it was fun to learn about new software and how to use it to create the label stickers.

What have you learned during your internship that you can apply to your future career?

From this internship I have learned a lot about the behind the scenes of how a company schedules posts, runs promotions, and alters to better benefit the company. It has been a wonderful opportunity for me to also grow my graphic design skills and my understanding of social media. These are all skills that will help me be better equipped for my future career and ensure my success.

Gabe McDonald- Gonzaga University- Marketing Intern

Area of Study & Expected Graduation

Gabe McDonald Studies major (Minors: Spanish, Visual Literacy, Journalism), Expected Graduation May 2023

Also a member of the Bulldog Band (the band that plays at all GU basketball games!)

What are some of your responsibilities as an intern?

As an intern, I am responsible for creating marketing signage for our on-campus food-retail locations, crafting and posting content on our social media platforms, and helping out with various tabling events throughout the school year.

What’s your favorite accomplishment as an intern?

My favorite accomplishment so far while being an Intern has been to take some of the popular online trends and work with the other interns to develop content for our social media that students at Gonzaga love to see. We started posting The COG menu for every meal on Instagram and that caused us to gain almost 2k in followers that semester!

What have you learned during your internship that you can apply to your future career?

During my internship, I have improved my skills in various Adobe programs (i.e., including Adobe Premiere, Illustrator, and Publisher) through each design creation I have initiated since starting in August 2021. I have also gotten a chance to improve my customer service skills during each tabling event we have done, that will become especially useful in a future career.