Presentation Description

The Menus of Change University Research Collaborative (MCURC) is a nationwide network of colleges and universities using campus dining halls as living laboratories for behavior change. These are dynamic learning environments where applied research is bridged with operational innovation to advance the Menus of Change Principles of Healthy, Sustainable Menus. The MCURC Student Fellows program provides undergraduate and graduate students from MCURC member institutions an opportunity to gain experience conducting research that advances healthy, sustainable, delicious food choices in college and university settings. The program offers students a chance to contribute to cutting-edge academic and operational research initiatives at and across MCURC member institutions and to network with peers and professionals from colleges and universities across the country and around the world. Under the mentorship of an advisor from each student’s academic and/or dining service side, MCURC Student Fellows gain valuable experience and act as an important bridge between their own campus–its dining program, student community, faculty researchers, and other stakeholders–and the MCURC.

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Bios:

Andrea Catania

Andrea is a graduate student in the Gastronomy program focusing on Food Policy at Boston University. She hails from the Syracuse area and is a proud graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Since then, Andrea has spent her career working across several roles of food and beverage operations in the Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Denver areas. She currently works as a Graduate Assistant for the Gastronomy program and as a Sustainability Intern for BU Dining Services. In the fall of 2022, she was selected as a Student Fellow for the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative and has served as the Fellows Co-Manager since last July. In her free time, she serves on the executive board of the Gastronomy Student Association at BU and can usually be found reading, traveling, or trying out a new place to eat.

Jessica Van Wie

Jessica Van Wie is a graduate student at Rutgers University in the Master of Business and Science degree program focusing on a concentration in Sustainability. In May 2022, she graduated from Rutgers with a bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences. While she was pursuing her undergraduate degree in Nutritional Sciences, she became interested in sustainability and how it relates to food production, human health, and the environment. With her undergraduate and graduate degrees, she hopes to bring together the two fields of nutrition and sustainability to find ways to feed the population nutritious, yet sustainable, food options. Since 2019, she has been a Student Fellow with MCURC and has been a Co-Manager for the program since Fall 2022. Jessica was born and raised in Clifton, NJ and enjoys spending time outdoors either running, surfing, golfing, or fishing.