Gastronomy Welcome Back Social
by Sarah Morrow
Walking into a room that contains mostly strangers can be pretty daunting. But in spite of the dark and dreary weather outside, walking into the Gastronomy Welcome Back Social last week was anything but intimidating. The past two weeks have been a rush of reading and finding (sometimes hidden!) classrooms. Taking a break from all of that was a welcome reprieve.
It was nice to see such a sizeable crowd turn out for the social. Most were students, though there were a few alums and professors in the group. Introductions, as well as wine, added to the air of congeniality.
If you weren’t able to make the event (and even if you did and need a refresher), a few key points were made during the social:
-Rachel is hosting a Milk and Cookies event on October 3rd from 5 to 6 pm. This is a great opportunity to get advice, ask questions, or voice any concerns you might have. And, of course, to eat cookies.
-The Student Association is a wonderful resource for all of us to get together and plan events so we can come together as a community more frequently. There’s currently a (free) Cooking and Science Lecture Series going on at Harvard that everyone is encouraged to attend, including an event this evening on Food Texture and Mouth Feel.
-Alumni Allison Carroll Duffy is going to be hosting a canning class on October 27th, from 6 to 9 pm. You do need to register ahead of time and the class is $50, but it includes all of the materials you’ll need. And, perhaps best of all, after the class you’ll never have to worry about your okra or beets going bad in your fridge again.
At the heart of all of this, though, was one common message: the Gastronomy department is a community. This is all pretty exciting, when you think about it. We get to learn about what we’re interested in with other like-minded people. Our teachers and our classmates are all incredible resources, and networking opportunities will be available to us well into the future. Our community gets to be whatever we want it to be.
After all, we’re all in this together.