Students and alumni dined at the Young Student Center Sunday evening to learn about proper dinner manners at the Etiquette Dinner.
Fifty-two people RSVP’d for the event.
At 4:30 p.m., students arrived in the Mabel Brown Room to dine and learn proper dinner etiquette for professional situations. This would be the ninth year the Etiquette Dinner was held. Executive Director of the Career Center at Tufts University Gregory J. Victory was the Keynote Speaker for the event.
For almost a decade, Victory has been doing etiquette and business prep workshops.
Tim Smith / Photo Editor
Victory gave an interactive talk with students and went over the step-by-step process on how to eat dinner properly, how to dress, how to network, proper introductions, what to drink and order and many more.
An alumni volunteer sat at each table to give their advice and personal experience to students.
Coordinator of Fraternity and Sorority Life & Student Leadership and event organizer Brandon Mathieu said he knew Victory since his first-year as an undergraduate at Syracuse University.
Victory taught and mentored him about etiquette and the process of becoming a professional.
Mathieu stressed the importance of the Etiquette Dinner. “I think just the content of the program related to etiquette and networking is just really important, especially today. I think it’s something we need to see,” said Mathieu.
One of the alumni volunteers, Dave Westover, sat at one of the tables and gave students some insight based on his personal experience as a professional. Westover said he has been a part of the Etiquette Dinner since it first came to be nine years ago.
Westover facilitates Resumania, which helps students write resumes and has helped students prepare for the business world.
Westover said he enjoys helping students prepare for the adult world.
“I always remember that scenario of someone who didn’t have to reach out and help me out,” said Westover.
“So in my small way, as much as I can, I try to assist students on campus. I know what it was like back in the day. So if I can help somebody out at the end of the day, then it’s worth my 16 mile drive here,” said Westover.
Keene State College (KSC) senior Emilee Jezierny decided to go to the event to prepare herself for the professional world after she graduates.
Jezierny said she was skeptical about going to the Etiquette Dinner at first, but ended up liking it. Jezierny said she felt that learning proper etiquette is essential. “I think it’s just important in general to know etiquette because you never know who you might bump into at a restaurant,” said Jezierny.
KSC first-year student Laurel Mendelsohn said she decided to go after a friend recommended her to attend the event.
She said she felt more confident after going.
“I felt pretty good going into this, I didn’t know how much I would know. I knew a little more than I thought I did, so that feels pretty good,” said Mendelsohn.
While Victory has taught proper business etiquette for years, he said nobody’s perfect at it.
“Nobody’s ever perfect on this. I make mistakes all the time when I do it and part of it is you want to be comfortable in those situations,” said Victory.
“And if you’re more comfortable and confident, you make less mistakes,” said Victory.
Katherine Glosser can be contacted at kglosser@kscequinox.com.
