My community nutrition class assigned a journal of personal growth throughout our community rotation.

1. FN 346
Journal
Adrienne Velasquez

2. 1/14/2015
Today, we were assigned our projects. Initially, I was really hoping for the obesity grant for the
sole reason that it would help gain actual experience working and setting up a program from the
ground up. One of my highest priorities is networking and getting to know more people in the
field I am going with, simply because it is clearly evident after a plethora of seminars and
webinars that it is ultimately “who you know” rather than “what you know” unfortunately. Kate
and I were assigned to work the “Farm To Table” event, which I honestly don’t remember
volunteering for but I guess it’s okay. The duties entail attending bimonthly meetings during
lunch time and fulfilling whatever the committee doesn’t have time for, in layman's terms. I
suppose it is a good thing, simply because I have 7 classes this quarter while working part-time
and I would probably be spreading myself too thin if I were in something a lot more involved?
I’m not sure what the general population we’ll be serving is, so there is just a lot of ambiguity
going into this service learning site.
1/27/2014
Today, Kate and I attended our first Farm To Table meeting. I was able to meet the new dean
for the first time. She’s a kind looking lady with a rather stern appearance which slightly
contradicts itself in an awkward way. There were a couple of names I fail to remember, but like
most of us I can associate what they do with their appearance. I realize that isn’t the best way of
remembering people, but one can’t help but stereotype. I definitely felt out of place. I was sitting
among people that are head of certain departments and such, that all I could gather about
myself that I was a student pursuing a career in the field of dietetics hoping to go into the food
service aspect of food and nutrition. To be completely honest, I don’t even truly understand what
I mean whenever I say that. We had missed out on the first meeting, so introductions were in
order and though Mary made it a point to make eye contact with us here and there, I couldn’t
help but feel like we didn’t belong. There was nothing we could entirely contribute to, so the
hour was spent observing and jotting down notes. In high school and church I was involved in
multiple committees, so the party planning aspect is something I’m familiar with. The dynamics

3. of the group were really interesting to note. Each person from the committee had something to
contribute in some way, such as Deanna with graphic design and Penne with… actually, I’m not
quite sure I remember what she did besides record the meeting’s points. From today’s meeting,
I believe we will be serving slightly older people considering they needed golf carts? The main
focus of the event seemed to be a sort of fundraiser and publicity stunt/promotion for the college
of agriculture. It is a way to let people know exactly what the college has to offer. This definitely
helps cater to the college of agriculture in a way to help fund for projects and raise awareness to
the public. I personally think that Cal Poly has already gained widespread knowledge
considering our vast fields of sheep and cows, but that’s just my personal opinion. In classes,
majority of my professors have an extensive, impressive background that I wouldn’t doubt the
credibility of our programs. Either way, the dean wants what she wants, so we’ll see how this
unravels.
2/24/2015
Today, Kate and I sat in the corner due to space constraints. We were provided lunch, but I had
already had a hefty salad that the sandwiches that were provided looked less than satisfying.
Each meeting has just felt like a check up on where we stood with certain things. OH! We also
finally settled on a chef, Arnold Zavalza. He works at Los Olivos so Kate and I will finally have
something to work on, hopefully. The committee members keep discussing what to feed student
volunteers and start laughing at how college students can’t really afford much and that pizza
and burgers are always suitable. Though I realize this is a generalization of students, they are
talking about students in the college of agriculture. From my perspective, the students I have
encountered eat particularly well that burgers and hot dogs will not sit well. At least it wouldn’t sit
well for me. Dedicating 3 hours of my time on a Saturday during spring break warrants more
than processed meat. I so badly wanted to interject, but I didn’t feel it was my place to correct
them or suggest what they should feed students as they scoffed about how we ear. Then again,
in hindsight as a nutrition student, OF COURSE I’m offended when people decide that I eat a
certain way. This site, I feel, is being sporadically put together with hopes that it will eventually
turn out okay. It exemplifies how well people have to work together and be tolerant of each
other. Everyone knows each other by name, but you can see the intimacy between certain
people is much greater than it is between the rest. It’s nature, and it is always really fun to watch
as a wallflower. Entertainment was a point of discussion, and theirs was a selected bunch of
students from each department to talk. I don’t know how well that would play out simply
because after so many speeches, people begin to tire of listening.

4. 3/10/2015
Today we had our second to last meeting. The best part? How many things they have decided
to throw on us the week before finals. I was relieved that we weren’t expected to do the
nutritional analysis of the menu, or make nutrition labels because I have a huge project due on
Thursday that demands more attention, especially because I dislike sacrificing studying time for
extracurriculars -- this is not an exception. I sent Anna a few examples of garden signs, and she
would like me to go shopping with her as well as make them. I’m trying to factor how much time
to allot for that, but it is slightly hard considering she didn’t give me a specific time or date. Like I
said before, everything is so sporadic it is hard to keep track. Granted, everyone is busy,
consideration to finish certain things rather than given 1 day or two to finish a particular project
would have been nice. The population we are catering to seems well cared for. All foreseeable
problems have been taken care of, so far as to make sure the grass is “high-heel ready”. They
mentioned we were free to attend, but I’m still debating whether or not I plan on attending. It
does sound like a fun event to attend, but then again it is the first Saturday free of metabolism
so I might just celebrate with a hefty Saturday afternoon nap.