The 5280 Closers riding in style: (l to r) Noah Steingrqaeber, Heidi Harrold, Geidre Stasiunaite, Erin Kasch and David Foos.

The ten juniors who are vying for the title of “Apprentice”--and its attendant full-year scholarship and paid internship next year--completed their first project on Feb. 1. The winning team, the 5280 Closers, was rewarded with a VIP tour of the U.S. Olympic Complex.

In the “Apprentice Challenge @ Metro State,” spearheaded by the Alumni Association and the Office of Alumni Relations, participants are divided into two five-member teams--the other team is the “A” Team-- to work on a series of four month-long projects that impact the local community.

The Kaiser Smart Meal Challenge
In the first project, the Kaiser Smart Meal Challenge, Apprentice teams identified and worked with downtown restaurants to create menu items that meet nutritional guidelines for healthiness, as part of LiveWell Colorado--a statewide initiative aimed at reducing overweight and obesity rates and related chronic diseases in Colorado. The teams were briefed on nutritional guidelines and worked with nutritionists to analyze the proposed meals.

After three weeks of research and dozens of visits to area restaurants, the teams were able to sign agreements with three individual restaurants and one chain of 15 restaurants to provide healthy offerings and include the “Smart Meal Seal” on their menus. The teams identified eight other restaurants that had interest in the program.

The teams presented their results to a panel of judges--including faculty, staff, alumni and professionals in the restaurant and public health fields--on Feb. 1.

“People were very impressed with their presentations,” said Stefanie Carroll, assistant director of alumni programs and communication. “With very little guidance on how to present their results, they really thought outside the box. The judges were particularly impressed when the students talked about the skills they had obtained through the challenge process.”

The 5280 Closers were deemed the winners of the first competition, with more restaurants signed on, but the A-Team won points for an outside-the-box translation of the Smart Meal Seal into Spanish for the Mexican restaurant Rosa Linda’s.

Touring the Olympic Training Center
The 5280 Closers were rewarded the day after the presentation with a limousine-driven trip to visit the U.S. Olympic Training Complex in Colorado Springs. They were given a VIP tour of the facilities by Eli Bremer, an Olympic hopeful in the pentathlon, and afforded the opportunity to watch future Olympians practice and meet with the Olympics nutritionist.

Team member Erin Kasch wrote in her blog about the trip: “When we went ‘behind the scenes’ to the area of the dining hall where they prepare the food for all of the athletes (this was a really unique experience, as many do not get to go into the athletes’ sleeping and eating quarters), I saw how important food consumption really is in their lives. It has really made me want to start cooking quality meals… (and) proud to be a part of the Smart Meal Seal program and promoting health awareness at Denver restaurants!”

(Read all the student participants’ blogs at http://www.mscd.edu/~alumni/apprenticechallenge/competitors.htm.)

Onto the next challenge: Helping Denver’s homeless
After a week off, the Apprentice Challenge teams are now busily at work on the second of their four projects: the UMB Homeless Challenge, in which they will assist local grassroots nonprofit organizations that serve homeless families as part of the Denver’s Road Home--the plan by Mayor John Hickenlooper and the Commission to End Homelessness.

The presentations for the Homeless Challenge will be held on Feb. 29, with the winning team reaping its reward on March 4. Carroll said that the rewards are kept secret until the project winners are announced.

Ongoing Assessment
In an effort to continuously monitor and improve the program, Alumni Relations is asking student participants and sponsoring organizations to complete evaluations at the end of each project.

“With the evaluations, we can assess what’s working and where we can make changes to make the program even more effective,” Carroll said.

Learn more
The deadline to buy tickets for the finale event, “The Boardroom,” at which the overall individual winner will be chosen by attendees, is April 18. To buy tickets or to read more about the Apprentice Challenge @ Metro State, go to www.mscd.edu/~alumni/apprenticechallenge.