Student Employee: Madison Beardslee
Madison Beardslee, an interdisciplinary studies student, was initially interested in becoming a dining diplomat because her sister worked with Lisa Eberhart, director of nutrition and wellness. For one semester she took a leadership position that exposed her to more nutrition and dining opportunities. She described her daily tasks below.
“Job tasks include office work, such as CBORD auditing, creating cool designs for brochures and pamphlets, and menu auditing,” Beardslee said. “Other tasks can be working on campus to spread the word about health and wellness, such as in a cooking demo or events like ‘yoga and yogurt.’”
In addition to being a dining diplomat, she is also a waitress and beverage cart worker at the golf course. Her task at this job includes serving people, driving the beverage cart and interacting with customers. Beardslee mentioned that even though both of her jobs are different, they have provided unique perspectives for the foodservice and nutrition industry.
Both of these jobs allowed Beardslee to accumulate a plethora of skills from graphic design to communication skills.
“Through my orientation job as a dining diplomat, I am able to speak to students and parents,” she said. “I really have to put myself out there and have gained public speaking skills because of it. I also have learned that I actually have a skill for graphic design. I worked on a lot of projects last summer that require me to be creative using a graphic design application to create brochures, pamphlets and infographics. At the golf course, I have been able to pick up some problem-solving skills that are necessary life skills.”
She mentioned that her dining diplomat job has come with several benefits. Although it can be hard to manage life as a student and employee, some of her work counts towards college credit for her nutrition minor. Her recommendation is to find a job that you enjoy so it does not feel like work.
“It’s cool to see how interested students at the college level can become over health and wellness,” Beardslee said. “It is inspiring! I also get to build awesome connections with mentors and supervisors to learn new things, which has put me in a great position to get a feel for the career.”
The most challenging part of her job is having to put herself out there. Beardslee feels more confident in her interpersonal communication skills because she is forced to interact with so many people that she would have not otherwise.
“Just working at a booth and reach out to students, such as calling out ‘Hi guys! Come try out this green smoothie!’ has really made me have to put myself out there and have a voice through campus, which can be kind of intimidating at first.” she stated. “Now that I have done that, I feel more confident in public speaking aspects.”
Beardslee’s favorite part about her job is the positive atmosphere and people she gets to work with.
“During my leader position when I worked in the office, there was never a negative thing said,” she mentioned. “Everything was constructive criticism and I loved how everybody that works for Lisa lifts each other up. Even if I am not feeling confident about a project or idea, they are still there to say ‘That is awesome! You are awesome!’ It feels great to have supportive coworkers.”
After graduating, she plans on working for either the Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention, the US Department of Defense, or a State Health Department. She also plans on getting her masters in Epidemiology and becoming an Epidemiologist.
- College:
College of Humanities and Social Sciences - Major/minor:
Science, Technology, and Society with a concentration in Public Health and Epidemiology, Minors in Biology and Nutrition - Hometown:
Mount Holly, NC - Clubs/Student Involvement:
Vice President of Companion Animal Club, Secretary of Biology Club, Server Staff for STS Program - Work Department:
Dining Diplomat for NC State Dining and server at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course
