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TCU 360

Etiquette Dinner teaches valuable skills to Chancellor’s Scholars

Chancellor's Scholars listen to the presentation by Ann Louden during the Etiquette Dinner (Makenzie Stallo/TCU360).
Chancellor’s Scholars listen to the presentation by Ann Louden during the Etiquette Dinner (Makenzie Stallo/TCU360).

Chancellor’s Scholars were treated to a five-course meal as part of an etiquette dinner on Tuesday night.

Around 70 students gathered in the Dee J. Kelly Alumni & Visitors Center to undergo proper etiquette training and gain first-impression skills that can benefit them in their professional lives.

Chancellor’s Intern Lauren Nixon who organized the event said it serves as a great professional development opportunity.

“It’s not about the rules or doing things right or wrong,” she said. “It makes everyone at the table comfortable and makes the flow of the meal really nice.”

Students learned the proper use of utensils, how to eat in a polite manner, and conversation skills to use when interviewing with future employers.

Ann Louden, the chancellor’s associate for strategic partnerships, hosted the event and guided the students through the meal while demonstrating proper technique.

“I love that students come in fearful and they walk out confident because they’ve had all their questions answered,” Louden said. “The comfort that we have going into settings that are unfamiliar to us, makes us successful.”

The theme of the night was movie clips. Clips from films like Elf, Beauty and the Beast and The Princess Diaries demonstrated poor etiquette and conversation skills.

The clips played between demonstrations throughout the meal included soup, salad, palate cleanser, main course and dessert.

Emma Brilleslyper, first-year biology and French double major, said the event was alluring because she’d never had training in dining etiquette before.

“I have never used more than one fork during a meal,” Brilleslyper said. “It was fun to learn how to use it and present yourself well.”

First-year Nicholas Forslund said he found the interview and conversation techniques the most useful.

“I think going back to basics is very important,” he said.

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