by Connie Kim
Career Services Center hosted their annual Etiquette Dinner in the UC ballroom last Tuesday. The event gathered many students together in business casual dress where they were catered with a three-course meal. simultaneously participants received a lesson in dining etiquette. Students learned everything from placement of appropriate silverware to the proper way to eat salad versus pasta and protein.
The event was hosted with intentions to educate students on proper behaviors at the table for occasions like a dinner job interview.
“It was a fantastic turn out,” Amanda Nicksic, Coordinator of Career Services said. “We’re hoping that this event will be a fun, learning activity that will prepare the students for the next leg of their journey.”
The dinner consisted of live entertainment, servers and a full three-course meal with salad, French onion soup, Chicken Parmesan and a chocolate cake to finish. The students were led by a table leader, who facilitated discussion and served as the “boss” or interviewee for a potential job.
A presenter followed a PowerPoint to teach the etiquette do’s and don’ts. The lesson covered a range of topics from proper business attire, to the proper direction to pass the water pitcher.
“I was pretty excited for it,” Michael Tombre, freshman and first-time attendee, said. “The music set the mood and I was able to learn about things that I never thought about. I didn’t know it was polite to stand when a female left and arrived the table. That was new to me.”
The ballroom held 115 students, along with several from different on-campus clubs. The Student Ambassador Program, Reisher Scholars, Associated Student Government and TRiO reserved a table of their own while some students from the Music Department and an accounting class also took part in the Etiquette dinner.
The Career Center is hoping for more partnership with clubs and academic departments for the Etiquette Dinner in the upcoming years. The event was planned a month in advance and ticket sales started in early September. This was the second year the career center has hosted the dine-and-learn event.
“I would come back again next year,” Tombre said. “Especially for the good food.”
