The Students Behind @Maristeats

Photo by Jamie Goodman

Christina Georgiou ‘24 compares interning for the dining hall to an episode of “The Office.” 

“We all sit at our intern table in the corner of the dining hall and discuss the most random things while I compile photos and videos,” Georgiou said. “I spend so much time there and I have access to most of our locations, so I feel super cool like a VIP.”

Tucked in a back corner booth in the dining hall, the six interns spread out their computers to plot their next dining hall campaign five days out of the week. They wander the dining hall to grab snacks, split up to capture the content they need and reconvene to compile their latest marketing campaign. 

As the photo and video interns, Georgiou and Phyia Walker ‘24 chat with the other interns to decide what events need to be promoted. 

“For Valentine’s Day, we had a limited time offer of chocolate cake at North End, so we were sent to photograph and taste test that and then we came back to the dining hall to collectively choose the best photo for the campaign,” Georgiou said. 

It is all about collaboration. Sustainability intern Jamie Goodman ‘23 is on a mission to get hummus reinstated in the dining hall before she graduates. As a vegetarian on the inside, she uses her role as the dining hall’s sustainability intern to make the food options more environmentally friendly. 

“I’ve collaborated with the campus dietician, Kelly Pearson, to take a look at what vegan and vegetarian offerings the dining hall currently offers, and we came up with ways we can add to these options,” Goodman said. 

Georgiou promotes Goodman’s initiatives to capitalize on the dining hall’s green initiatives. Outside of vouching for vegetarian options, Goodman tracks the composting to ensure the food is actually getting composted, plans the farmers’ markets and got the dining hall certified as a “Green Restaurant.”

She is also a regular on the dining hall’s TikTok and Instagram pages courtesy of social media intern Wyatt Cannon ‘23. They highlight their sustainability successes on the @Maristeats Instagram. 

Cannon is practically a TikTok expert, having millions of likes on both of his personal TikTok accounts. He brought his expertise to the dining hall, using trending sounds and filming parody videos for dining hall events. 

When Cannon began interning at the dining hall, he wanted to maintain the professional aesthetic previous interns created. He reiterated that all of the photos are taken in-house and remain unedited when posted on their social media pages. 

Cannon explained how they all share the same “art house vision” and that their supervisors generally buy into their goals.

In the past two years, they have been through four marketing managers. “We have gone through so many managers; we have been pushing out content on our own,” Georgiou said. 

Therefore, the interns take the initiative to pitch and plan events. Goodman is trying to collaborate with the English department for a Shakespeare-themed Valley Table. She wants to serve tea and scones in an homage to Britain. 

Cannon is also the mastermind behind the Win it Wednesday contest, making sure each photo has a common theme, photographing the prizes and then choosing the best photo to post.

“People complain about the food, but they don’t know what happens behind the scenes,”  Cannon said. “We do not have as much dysfunction as “The Office” because we are so collaborative.”