In Spring 2019, more than 160 Campus Enterprises student employees graduated from NC State. Andrew Ruzzier is one of them, having earned his B.S. degree in food science. He’s excited to start a new full-time job and attributes his recent accomplishment to his time working as a dining diplomat and nutrition assistant with NC State Dining, a department of Campus Enterprises.
“My experience was really good to talk about when speaking about project management, leadership, and organizational skills, because whenever I was hosting or planning an event for NC State Dining, there was a lot of working with all of the different departments on campus,” Ruzzier said. “I was given the freedom to create projects and to run with it, and that was a great experience to be able to talk about during interviews.”
That experience landed him a job as a bioprocess engineer at AveXis, a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm in Research Triangle Park, NC. He is excited about the new company he is working for and their involvement in new medicine.
Ruzzier’s interest in working with NC State Dining came from an email about jobs he received from the department. He became a dining diplomat, where he participated in health and wellness events and got hands-on involvement working with Lisa Eberhart, a dietitian and NC State Dining’s director of nutrition and wellness.
“In addition to health and wellness events, I got to prepare food at Case Dining Hall,” Ruzzier continued. “I was seeing how everything was scaled and prepared to feed the thousands of people they feed every day.”
Following his time as a dining diplomat, Ruzzier was invited to continue working as a nutrition assistant, where he supported dining facilities campuswide with IT needs related to Tapingo, the online ordering app as well as online nutrition information.
Farm Feast this past spring semester was memorable because he was able to construct and complete a project. The idea for the project stemmed from one student’s interest in fermentation and probiotics, according to Ruzzier.
“We tabled at Farm Feast,” Ruzzier said. “I handed out all of the samples and pamphlets and talked to students about probiotics and how they work in your body. It was interesting because it all started from one student’s suggestion.
Eberhart has mentored dozens of students over the years. They are critical to the success of our efforts to bring transparency to NC State’s dining program to help students learn more about what they are eating, particularly if they have allergies and intolerances or just want to know more about how food can impact their academic performance.
“Andrew always strives to make a difference,” said Eberhart. “I believe he is a testament to working while an undergraduate is part of your life’s education.”
“Food nutrition will always be something near and dear to my heart,” Ruzzier concluded. “I learned a lot from my time at NC State and have a new appreciation for everything going on behind the scenes that makes NC State what it is.”