Two weeks ago I had the honor and the privilege of leading the UMW class of 2023 down campus walk for UMW’s 111th commencement. I’ve been through three commencements personally with each holding more meaning than the other (Bachelor, Masters, Doctorate). As an undergraduate it didn’t hold much meaning because it was such a big graduating class and I knew it wasn’t the end. The doctorate was a big one for me because that was it for me. Plus, my daughter was there to celebrate it with me (even though she was only 2 years old). Now that I’m faculty the commencement holds even more meaning for me because I get to see all my students graduate. I get to meet their families, and I get to look forward to one day being the parent of a college graduate.
The speakers I’ve had for commencements have been wonderful and they all imparted great advice on the graduates. There’s not much i would add to it except this, don’t wait or hold back to enjoy the moment. I didn’t enjoy my undergrad commencement as much because I didn’t know what I was going to do for the next year. I was in sales and I knew I didn’t like that very much. I didn’t enjoy my Masters graduation as much because I was worried about what my PhD would be like, I didn’t enjoy my PhD commencement because I was worried about what life would be as faculty and the tenure process. In the end everything worked out, worrying didn’t help much. I find it’s the same for most people, it all works. Enjoy the best time of the year.
We’ve only just started analyzing all the data that my class collected last fall pertaining to food waste at the retail level. One of the obvious things is that people avoid food that is close to the “best buy” date. Remember, those best buy dates are largely a scam to get people to throw out what they have and buy more. What was surprising though is that at the retail level there’s no systematic tracking of what products have which best buy dates. Unless someone physically catalogues it (and that’s unlikely when a grocery store contains over 30,000 items), there’s no way of knowing that this yogurt has a day until it’s best buy date. Using barcodes and membership cards, grocery stores can track how much of an item they have, when it was sold, how much it was sold for, and in some cases who bought it. However, information on the expiration date is not in the bar code (some would falsely claim that it is). What happens is that food which consumers are unlikely to buy are then unsold and ultimately discarded. If there was a way to track expiration dates of products on the shelf then the grocer can use discounting techniques or even heighten donations before the perceived self implosion date.
I’m super excited to announce that our digital marketing class will be partnering with other classes at universities across the country to develop our individual social media footprint and to network beyond UMW. It’s an amazing project that has been in existence for years and for which we were truly lucky to be invited to join. The students will be showcasing their marketing knowledge and corresponding with their peers at our partner institutions. How it works is that one instructor (perhaps Laurel Cook of WVU) will post a question and then students across colleges will reply and then comment on the replies of others. What I love so much is that the students will build their professional social media profile which is great because over 70% of potential employers look at a candidate’s social media profile before hiring AND they get to meet similar students that they may otherwise never have met.
It started by noticing how many people were food insecure in my area. From that I started reading more about the reasons behind food insecurity and that led me to the problem of food waste. How is it possible that we throw out over 30% of all food that is produced even though we have millions that are food insecure. It’s a major social and environmental problem, maybe we can bring together students from different backgrounds and go in-depth on this? Maybe a local retailer will help us study this. The course came together on a whim and I wasn’t sure what would come out of it but any expectations I had have been far exceeded. The students have contributed so much to the study of this issue, we’ve made a positive impact in our community, and we have the potential to really push positive change. I enjoy all my courses but this one really puts the cherry on top. To read the write up in the Richmond Times Dispatch please click here.
Thanks to Shannon Hauser our new class on alleviating food waste now has a website. I envision that the students in the class can post current news on Food Waste that they read and the site can be repository of information for anybody interested in the topic (and it’s an interesting topic). Give it a look, all feedback welcome. http://zerofoodwaste.kashefmajid.com/
Two weeks ago I had the honor and the privilege of leading the UMW class of 2023 down campus walk for UMW’s 111th commencement. I’ve been through three commencements personally with each holding more meaning than the other (Bachelor, Masters, Doctorate). As an undergraduate it didn’t hold much meaning because it was such a big graduating class and I knew it wasn’t the end. The doctorate was a big one for me because that was it for me. Plus, my daughter was there to celebrate it with me (even though she was only 2 years old). Now that I’m faculty the commencement holds even more meaning for me because I get to see all my students graduate. I get to meet their families, and I get to look forward to one day being the parent of a college graduate.
