The Student Alumni Association teamed up with the UO Career Center and the Lundquist College of Business to offer the Etiquette Dinner. This is an annual event that teaches our students the ins and outs of business dining etiquette. This year, we brought in Mindy Lockard, "The Gracious Girl," to walk us through the steps of business dining, course by course. 

The dinner consisted of a delicious meal from UO Catering, during which our presenter gave everyone a step-by-step walk through on how to properly dine in both Continental and US settings while giving light-hearted and relevant tips on moving through the business world.
 

Each table had two hosts, either alumni or local employers, to network with and guide the 110 students at the dinner. It was a great opportunity for our students to learn valuable skills while getting to connect with alumni, as well as a wonderful opportunity for some of our local alumni to come back to campus and meet some of our amazing students!

Check out what some our attendees had to say about it below!


From our students:

On Wednesday, February 11th, the Student Alumni Association paired up with the Career Center and Lundquist College of Business to put on an etiquette dinner for SAA members, alumni, employers, and UO faculty members. Not only was the fully catered meal delicious, especially the dessert, but also the event began with free professional headshots - perfect for LinkedIn profiles. We had an etiquette expert walk us through the ins and outs of a business dinner as we made our way through each course of the meal. It was a great event to learn business dining etiquette, network, and get to know fellow SAA members!
-Sophie Hodges, SAA Marketing Intern, Class of 2015

The etiquette dinner was the most memorable event that I have been involved with in the SAA. Not only were there networking opportunities, but it was a fantastic meal and I got to meet other UO students and hear about their career paths and how they are advancing themselves professionally. Not to mention all of the etiquette tips we were given that will definitely prepare me for when I attend future business meetings/interviews!
-Kiana Jensen, SAA Marketing Intern, Class of 2017


From our table hosts:

I really enjoyed the etiquette dinner and the chance to get to spend an evening with some great students. The nice thing about the dinner is that there’s something for all of us to learn. The time we spent concentrating on which fork to use or how to eat our soup was a great ice breaker allowing us to laugh with each other and hear many interesting stories. And I think that’s the most important thing to come out of the dinner. It’s not about table manners, but about gaining the confidence to sit and have substantive and entertaining conversations with the people at your table. I also found the fashion show to be very illuminating. I think I need to update my wardrobe!
-Lisa Fortin, Class of 1997

This was my second opportunity to attend the SAA etiquette dinner, each time I have learned something new (and I thought that I was fairly astute when it comes to etiquette). Far too often it seems that etiquette, good manners and personal grooming have been thrown out the window. This dinner is a wonderful opportunity for both the students and community leaders to 1) network 2) learn from an etiquette expert 3) learn from one another and 4) remember that none of us is perfect. I highly recommend continuing this event and encourage our alumni to take part in it.
-Joelle Rankins Goodwin, Class of 1986