Confidence, Culture, and Connection: How Sodexo Helps Students Thrive Beyond the Classroom

Remaining resilient and feeling confident in the face of challenges is a universal human desire. Regardless of age, everyone wants to feel prepared as they encounter new experiences — and today’s students are no different.

With technology making the world move faster and more connected than ever, students expect higher education institutions to keep pace. They expect colleges and universities to go beyond academics and help them build the skills and confidence needed to thrive in a fast-changing, multicultural world. They have a keen understanding that being adaptable, developing cultural proficiency, embracing broader perspectives, and creating a strong sense of community is vital to their success in college and beyond. 

In the 2024-2025 Sodexo Student Lifestyle Survey, students overwhelmingly reported that they equate food and dining with socializing and building relationships.* Sodexo has used that knowledge to continuously create resident dining initiatives to meet student expectations using the power of shared food experiences. By closely collaborating with our college and university partners, we create engaging, authentic opportunities that help students learn, experience, and grow — ensuring that they succeed throughout their higher education journey and long after graduation.

Knowing that today’s students place a high value on personal growth, adaptability, and obtaining practical life skills, Sodexo’s on-site teams regularly collaborate with their campus partners to bring creative, food-focused learning experiences like the Global Chef program.

Sodexo’s international chef residency program allows chefs worldwide to travel to other countries and share their native cuisine and culture in a creative, personal way. With their presence on our partner campuses, they allow students to experience new cultures and sample the flavors of our increasingly connected world.

Such was the case when SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Delhi recently hosted Chefs Bruno Souza and Tayuane Gorziza from Brazil who oversaw a traditional Brazilian lunch during which students savored cashew-crusted cod with coconut rice and banana tartar, carreterio rice with garlic flank steak and cassava chips, and authentic couve a mineira. Both chefs then joined Delhi University Culinary Arts Professor Chef Julee Miller’s baking class, talking with students about their exciting experiences in the culinary world as Sodexo Global Chefs.

In addition to personal growth, social justice is equally important to college and university students who are discovering who they are and what they stand for. Interacting with students daily reinforced that fact for Sodexo Area Executive Chef Aaron Furtner, who worked with SUNY Delhi’s leadership and other campus departments to help students explore ways they could make a difference.

The Bronco Dining Services team partnered with the university’s director of the Center for Student Leadership and Engagement Larry Mannolini to create a fun, interactive event to teach basic cooking skills, raise awareness about food insecurity, and showcase the university’s well-stocked Regalia Food Pantry.

They set up student food prep stations right outside the food pantry and guided students in preparing a delectable risotto recipe using ingredients regularly available at the pantry, such as rice, canned corn, and tinned sausage. In addition to sharing food preparation tips, safety skills, and hygiene best practices, the students had hands-on training with julienne, brunoise, and mince cutting techniques.

“Learning these kitchen skills early can help anyone learn to save money cooking their own meals, and it's also very rewarding,” Chef Furtner said. “Cooking is also fun! It's a great mental and physical escape from work and other stresses, and you can channel another area of your brain and senses that aren't always activated through the day.”

The students were amazed at the food resources available right on campus and appreciated learning how to use simple ingredients to create delicious, cost-effective homemade meals.

Our teams also recognize the importance of preparing students to enter a professional world where multicultural proficiency and adaptability to the unfamiliar are the norm. And, as always, Sodexo uses its knack for dining innovation to help students gain cultural confidence, develop critical life skills, and build new friendships in a fun, flavorful way. A great example is the collaboration between Lehigh University’s Dining Services team, marketing staff, and Professor Wandi Wang’s Asian Studies class.

Lehigh Dining Marketing Manager Erin Foertsch worked closely with Professor Wang and Executive Chef Charlie Kresge to do some creative cross-departmental planning, after which Chef Kresge invited students into the kitchen — and back in time. Chef Kresge guided the students in a centuries-old noodle-making practice to create Pagoda-Leaf Noodles, a green-hued dining staple that originated from a 13th Century Chinese cookbook and is still used in numerous cuisines around the world. Chef Kresge worked with each student to help them properly combine the authentic ingredients, mix the dough, and craft the noodles while describing the cultural history behind the dish.

While they learned a skill and gained a new appreciation for Asian culture, the icing on the cake for students came with the real end result…a savory, hand-made meal prepared alongside new friends. They also brought home dough, noodles, and copies of the recipe to add to their home menu line-up!