Jackie Koerner

Food! Oh, Fantastic Food!

On practically a daily basis, I call my friend, Josh, neglected. In fact, he is. Unlike my delicious childhood, Josh’s experiences with homemade food were less than ideal.  Think aerosol pancakes and food situations we shall just put in an ‘other’ category. Like many Americans, there are many ‘real foods’ he has never tried – or the first experience was so horrible, that path was not pursued again.

I learned most of my cooking skills from my mom.  Cooking has been a passion for me from such a young age.  I remember making scrambled eggs and various desserts at the age of 5. I love cooking food, eating food, and sharing food.

My parents and I would watch the cooking shows on PBS every Saturday morning.  Thank goodness for the new Create channel from PBS – now I can catch the cooking shows whenever! I do have to say, one of my favorites is America’s Test Kitchen.

America’s Test Kitchen tests recipes, types of food, etc. It’s a great way to see food analysis and learn about which ingredients are quality – and how price isn’t always indicative of quality!  I learned so much from their show about beef cuts (being a vegetarian, they somehow explained textures and consistency so I could understand).

Like any seasoned foodie, I have had my food flops, but I didn’t give up…not even after the crab rangoon Chris has mocked for 10 years now. After each mistake, which we all know are learning experiences, I analyze what went wrong, modify, or scrap and start over with the recipe.

Why do this? Because food is so amazing. This is one experience I wish more Americans would enjoy.  We eat all throughout the day, so why not enjoy it?  Why not enjoy what we are eating?  Actually be passionate about cooking great food and eating great food!

How does this strange obsession with good food possibly fit into geeky-me?  It does – very much so, because cooking is actually a science. Some argue an art, but the best cooking is done by understanding why things happen.  My bookshelves are filled with science books, including about 5 that pertain to cooking.  Here is a new one I intend to add to my shelf soon.

Get your kitchen dirty – have some fun.  Make some great food.  Be passionate about what you’re eating.

My New Meta-Resume

Experience

Financial Aid Coordinator, Saint Louis University Mar 07 – Present
Counseled students on financial aid. I maintained the website using Dreamweaver
and Drupal. I instituted debt counseling and financial responsibility seminars. I
redesigned the website content to include aid calculators, podcasts and a
scholarship database.

Enrollment Management Intern, Saint Louis University May 08 – Dec 08
Researched podcasting and wiki use for higher education. I created an audio
campus tour. I developed training sessions for Adobe Captivate and Google Apps
(Mail, Documents, Sites and Calendars). I offered computer-based tutorials, inperson
training, and written instructions to best address individual learning styles.

Senior Financial Aid Assistant, Saint Louis University June 06 – Mar 07
Completed data entry and file maintenance. I wrote procedures for departmental
functions. I organized training seminars for the department regarding policy changes
and topic refreshers. I created the aid sessions held during student orientation.

Financial Aid Counselor, University of Phoenix Mar 04 – Jun 06
Counseled students on the aid policies and payment arrangements. I developed
training for new counselors, revised orientation materials, and created financial
management seminars. I performed audits of files, as well as compliance review of
other counselors.

Education
Master of Arts, Higher Education
Saint Louis University, May 09

Bachelor of Science, Foreign Languages and Literature
Southern Illinois University, May 06

Skills
Mac                           CSS                         Garageband
Unix                          JAVA                         Final Cut Pro
Linux                         HTML                        Adobe Premiere
Windows

iWork                        Drupal                      iShowU
Google Docs              Ingenuix                   Screenflow
Microsoft Office          WordPress                Adobe Captivate
Google Sites

Professional Development
Apple Education Training, May 08
Author of “A Structure to Influence Student Development”

Keywords
Intelligent, Smart, Bright, Educated, Dedicated, Dedication, Creative, Creativity, Artistic, Analytical, Technical, Nerd, Geek, Team, Player, Team-player, Humor, Humorous, Music, Musical, Audio, Video, Edit, Editor, Editing, Podcaster, Podcasting, Mathematical, Logical