Etiquette Dinner

April 20, 2009 - 6:48 PM

Jessica called me a few weeks ago more excited than I have ever heard her.

"There's a business etiquette dinner!" she cried from across the street on her cell phone. I can see her quad complex from my bedroom window, so I looked out as though I could see her and said, "what?"

She had received an invitation through the university's e-mail service that alerted her to a free dinner focusing on the etiquette expected when dining in a professional setting that would be provided by University Catering and Career Services. Jess was ecstatic and wanted to know if I had also received an invitation because the dinner is offered to juniors and seniors at UO.

I hadn't received an invitation even though I am a junior, so Jess forwarded me the link to the registration site so that I could register anyway. When I got accepted to attend the dinner, I called Jess and confirmed a dinner-date with my favorite gal!

She came over the night before to borrow my clothes, (which always look better on the person borrowing your clothes) and left with an entire ensemble from my jam-packed, yet tiny closet.

We went to the dinner and had a great time. Because she and I are the kind of students who sit in the front row of classes and shower the teacher with questions and comments, Jess and I spent the evening posing questions to the gregarious speaker, who later came and thanked us for our participation.

In the end, each student was granted a 25% discount to Banana Republic, which allowed my dad and I to go internship clothes shopping this weekend.

The university is great in that it provides tons of opportunities to participate in extra-curricular activities that are fun and educational. They are always well-catered and well-planned. I really appreciate going to a school that is big enough to fund activities like these but small enough that I feel comfortable attending.