-: I've seen more and more gastronomy programs,
food science programs, food and media.
They're really over the course of the last ten years
I think both media cities has seriously grown
and developed as a collegiate program it seems
and at universities and I think food studies programs
as well and absolutely worth while to study
and get as much information as you can
and try and figure out where
and what part of food you might be interested in
but I highly, highly recommend and almost feel in food
it's more important than anything to have that
hands-on operational experience.
I worked at a summer stand selling fruits and vegetables.
The summer I graduated from UVA in my hometown
and absoulutely loved it and felt really connected
to the farms you're buying from and the produce
and thought to myself there actually might be
something there in terms of a career.
I worked in this tiny produce store in Boston
and sort of understood buying a bit,
I was reading a ton about agriculture
and farming and what not.
I worked in a demonstration kitchen
and served at night so I really took that year,
year and a half post UVA to get my hands very dirty
and sort of in the weaves of food.
If you are willing to do some of the jobs that
other people aren't, and I started working in
a Whole Foods store, I was a marketing team leader
in a specific location and worked my way up,
pretty quickly moved to the regional office,
and then to the global office and that willingness
and having the operational experience of having
worked directly in a store.
Getting to know the team member base
and really understanding how each piece
and each step of the business functions was huge.
Really allowed me to be effective in my purchasing
career which become what it is today.
So I think I also really like to remind people
don't dismiss opportunities that give you
great experience even if they seem somehow not
quite as weighty or if they don't feel as big
as opportunities that you're seeing your friends
or someone else take, they can end up having
a really, really meaningful effect.