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Summer Institute Scholarship Drive

By on April 3, 2012 in Nourish Office, Office Updates, Summer Institute

 

This spring Nourish International alumni are raising funds for Summer Institute Scholarships that will go to aspiring Nourish students all over the United States!

Every year, Nourish International hosts the Summer Institute, a 5 day training conference for its emerging student leaders.  It can be expensive to make the trek to Chapel Hill, NC and we want to give the opportunity to attend to as many students as possible.  Two gracious donors have agreed to match all donations to help reach the goal of $6,000 total. Consider making a contribution through this portal–every dollar helps!

The Nourish International Summer Institute is a rigorous and rewarding 5-day conference that prepares our students for the challenges they’ll face as Chapter Members.  Through workshops, mentoring, and hands-on training, they’ll learn how to raise money, contact community partners, and run a successful Nourish Chapter on their campuses in the upcoming year.

Participation in the Institute fully enables Nourish students to hit the ground running as they begin new and exciting adventures in the following year.  Training at past Institutes has focused on how to increase the profitability of ventures, maximize your project impact, lead a team, build membership, and more.  There are also speakers and mentors throughout the Institute!

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Featured Alumnus: Logan Couce

By on February 8, 2012 in Alumni Spotlight, Nourish Office, Summer Institute

Logan Couce, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, first became curious about Nourish International when he saw students serving the weekly ‘Hunger Lunch’, UNC’s most popular Nourish business venture. After speaking with a friend who had participated in Nourish’s summer project in Latin America, Logan decided to become involved.

Logan with Sindhura Citineni, Founder of Nourish International, at Nourish’s 2011 Summer Institute

Two things about Nourish International really sparked Logan’s interest. First, the organization is totally run by the students. Students take the drivers seat in planning and implementing everything from on-campus ventures to summer projects abroad, allowing them to grow both professionally and personally. Second, is Nourish’s capacity to be self-critical within the organization. Logan says, “As an undergraduate I saw many student organizations that, while possessing the best of intentions, frequently ran full steam ahead without ever stopping to question what unintended negative impacts were possible.”  Logan feels it is important that the culture at Nourish promotes development of future leaders who have the experience and skills to think critically about the projects and their impacts.

Nourish International provided Logan with the opportunity to gain experience in developing and leading projects and organizations from the ground level up. In working through the process of taking something from idea to reality, Logan became skilled in everything from public speaking to partnership building, from writing to simply understanding how to effectively run a meeting. ”The skills learned through my time with Nourish International were easily the most professionally valuable thing about my experience in college, and have served as a strong foundation in the working world,” remarked Logan.

He also had the chance to work with dozens of passionate, hard-working and like-minded people, including both fellow students and our partners abroad. Logan says of his time working with Nourish on UNC’s campus, “Lifelong bonds were formed, and those friendships and experiences played a big part in shaping who I am today.”

Logan is currently splitting his time between developing and leading online fundraising campaigns for a youth development foundation in New Mexico, researching a few potential business and social ventures, and exploring options for graduate school. He would encourage students considering working with Nourish to jump in wholeheartedly. “The opportunity exists to learn and grow an incredible amount, and the bonds built in the process will be with you for life. You won’t regret jumping in with both feet.”

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Local Food at Summer Institute

By on August 18, 2011 in Summer Institute

As we look back on the Summer Institute, Nourish International would like to recognize and thank our food sponsors. This year, we strived to work with locally owned businesses, supporting our community members in these difficult times. Not only was the food delicious, but Nourish was able to continue forging strong relations with our community. Read on to learn more about our food sponsors:

Located in the eclectic town of Carrboro, Armadillo Grill is an award-winning Tex-Mex restaurant that has been operating in the Triangle area since 1993. Perhaps the secret behind their famous soft tacos is the fact that they make their tortillas after an order has been placed, not before. We enjoyed Armadillo Grill’s delicious rice and beans as the first day’s lunch, featuring a kick back to our first venture, Hunger Lunch.

We also enjoyed UNC’s Carolina Catering. From veggie wraps to Carolina Barbeque to portobello sandwiches, Carolina Catering pleased a variety of tastes.

Local coffee shop Cup A Joe provided caffeine for those Institute attendees who are not morning people.  Owned by Joe Van Gogh, a certified organic coffee roaster, Cup A Joe offers certified Fair Trade and Shade Grown coffee. We love that Joe Van Gogh strives to purchase coffee directly from farmers, maximizing the compensation for hard-working coffee growers around the world. Next time you’re shopping for your morning cup of coffee, check out their Cafe Feminino line, which supports women-owned co-ops around the world.

Elmo’s Diner is definitely the spot to go if you’re in need of comfort food. From chocolate chip pancakes and biscuits to meatloaf and burgers, Elmo’s menu covers all home-cooking favorites. Elmo’s provided delicious quiche for the Summer Institute for the second year in a row.

Jessee’s Coffee is another local coffee shop that provided coffee for the Institute. Nourish staff members are especially excited about this coffee, as they miss their near-daily visits to Jessee’s when the National Office was located in Carrboro. Jessee’s offers free live music throughout the week and also features a locally-sourced food menu that is delicious!

We are excited that Mez Contemporary Mexican catered the Summer Institute Banquet for the second year in a row. Located in Durham, NC, Mez is the latest venture of the locally owned and operated Chapel Hill Restaurant Group, which also owns the popular 411 West, Squid’s Seafood, and Spanky’s. Mez features traditional Mexican recipes with a modern, healthy twist, and uses locally grown organic products whenever possible.

Vimala’s Curry Blossom Cafe is owned by Vimala, a Bombay native and mother of three. She began cooking donation-based community dinners in her home in 1994, and it was here that her restaurant was born. Vimala’s long-term goals are to transform the local economy by buying locally produced food, seeking local investors, and paying a living wage to staff.

Many thanks to our other food donors as well:

In this difficult economic climate, we appreciate that local businesses and franchises continue to support our students and mission. Many thanks to all of these restaurants for their generous contributions!

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Alumni Serving as Mentors at Summer Institute

By on June 30, 2011 in Alumni Spotlight, Summer Institute

Nourish International is committed to continuing to improve our extensive student leadership curriculum. In keeping with this, the National Office is excited to announce that alumni will be serving as mentors to current student leaders at the Summer Institute for the first time ever.

Alumni will attend Summer Institute workshops alongside students and will be able to provide instant feedback on ideas for ventures, projects, leadership, and more. This presents a unique chance for students to receive advice from past students who have gone through the same challenges they currently face as campus leaders. This also presents an opportunity for alumni to stay connected to and give back to Nourish.

Summer Institute 2010

The following alumni will be serving as mentors at the Summer Institute:

  • Alex Ahearn: former chapter leader at Duke University
  • Logan Couce: former NINO staff member and UNC chapter alumnus
  • James Dillard: former NINO staff member and UNC chapter alumnus
  • Alison Dorsey: Duke chapter alumnus and Argentina project participant
  • Joel Thomas: first executive director of Nourish and UNC chapter alumnus
  • Bryon Zandt: former NINO staff member and UNC chapter alumnus

We are excited to welcome these esteemed alumni to the Summer Institute!

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Summer Institute Speaker Lineup

By on June 16, 2011 in Summer Institute

The National Office is excited to announce that Houston Spencer, Sarah Bishop, and Ted Gonder will be speaking at the annual Summer Institute this August. Held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, this five-day conference for Nourish students includes leadership workshops, mentoring, and hands-on training in addition to the guest speakers.

Houston Spencer

Houston Spencer was born in the United States and raised in Canada. After obtaining both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he left his academic career in North America to enter the high-tech industry in Australia. He spent five years with McKinsey & Company assisting companies with major upheaval. He then joined Alcatel’s Asia Pacific Headquarters in 2001 and became the director of the global marketing team in 2003. In his current role, Houston leads the team responsible for Alcatel’s activity with key non-customer stakeholders, including industry analysts, strategic partners, and end-users. He is also responsible for Alcatel’s global marketing plan.

Sarah Bishop

Sarah Bishop is the fellowship director at StartingBloc, an organization that trains the next generation of leaders in social innovation practices. She recruits StartingBloc Fellows, designs curriculum, and creates programming so that Fellows can get the resources needed to dramatically increase impact. Prior to joining StartingBloc, Sarah spent two years coordinating countrywide education programs in El Salvador, Jordan, and Peru. She graduated with a B.A. in International Marketing from American University, where she founded and led the gymnastics team.

Ted Gonder

As the co-founder and director of development for MoneyThink, Ted Gonder develops partnerships with universities around the United States to create student-orchestrated co-curricular financial literary workshops in low-income high schools and communities. He is a rising senior at the University of Chicago and a Boston 2011 StartingBloc Fellow. Gonder is currently interning at the Kauffman Foundation, where he is researching expansion of small business support in the United States.

The National Office is excited to welcome these esteemed speakers to the Summer Institute and is awaiting the arrival of the 40+ student attendees on August 4th.

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Giving Thanks to our Summer Institute Sponsors!

By on August 17, 2010 in Summer Institute

Many thanks to our sponsors of the 2010 Nourish International Summer Institute!

EvoApp
Marcia Angle and Mark Trustin Fund
UNC Global
UNC Institute or Global Health
Mez Contemporary Mexican
Chapel Hill Restaurant Group
Mediterranean Deli
Jessee’s Coffee
Chipotle
Elmo’s Diner
Costco
Noodles & Co.
Bruegger’s
Courtyard Marriott
Chapel Hill Florist
Nantucket Grill
3 Cups
Caribou Coffee
Neal’s Deli

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