Interviewing for a healthier lifestyle by Sara Touzard, managing editor

Excitement, sweaty palms, shaking hands could be seen as Ms. Maldonado’s Health & Wellness Discovery class experienced their first time interviewing local restaurants about how they prepare healthy foods for their customers.According to Ms. Maldonado, the Health & Wellness Discovery class learned how to create a healthy lifestyle by using the food pyramid, discussing how much and what types of food a person should eat, and becoming more aware of what they eat on a regular basis.

The Health class gained additional information about a healthy diet by using a website called MyPlate.com, an organization created by Michelle Obama and the USDA. The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) joined forces with Mrs. Obama and the USDA to spread the word about how important it is to make healthy food choices to according to Ms. Maldonado.

According to MyPlate.com,  presents a personalized plan that lets a person decide how much fruit, vegetables, grains, and dairy they should eat and how to incorporate it into their daily diet.

After class, the students took the information they learned and tried to incorporate it in their interviews with the local restaurants. They asked the owners and managers questions about how they prepare healthy foods for their customers..

“The purpose of this project was to introduce students to how to conduct a good interview. Since we are in a publications school, I felt that the students needed to learn this skill so they can use it in the future,” said seventh grade Health &Wellness Discovery teacher Ms. Maldonado.

Each group was assigned a local restaurant near the school like 57’s, Juice for Life, Ginza Sushi place, Gryro Corner, and the Powerhouse Gym. They were required to research and brainstorm ideas and create interview questions. All of the groups learned tips and tricks in class and practiced interviewing each other.

“We have worked on this project for about a month. All the students learned what to do and not to do when it comes to an interview. They have thought of many questions, revised some questions and choose final questions they should ask. I let the students handle the interview. They had done lots of research, wrote down all their questions, made an appointment with the managers of the restaurant’s, practiced reading their questions to each other and handled their final interview for themselves,” said seventh grade Health &Wellness Discovery teacher Ms. Maldonado.

After all the practicing, students began to interview their assigned restaurants and discuss how their restaurants contribute to people’s healthy lifestyle.

“What I learned from interviewing at Ginza is that they get their fresh fish at a local market and that their most popular dish was chicken teriyaki,” said seventh grader Stephanie Rodriguez.

“While my group visited 57’s I learned that there food is greasy, but they also have healthy snacks like chicken wraps. They use fresh ingredients like chicken and vegetables to make the wrap taste good,” said seventh grader Kevin Torres.

“What I learned while I was at Gyro Corner is that they use homemade ingredients to make their food. Gyro Corner had gotten its name because it sells gyros at the corner of Francis Lewis boulevard,” said seventh grader Adam Verissmo.

“What I learned while interviewing at Juice for Life is that they sell healthy food like protein shakes, salads, and sandwiches,” said seventh grader Mikey Rivera.

Students also learned that interviewing takes a lot of time, effort , and practice in order to conduct a successful interview.
“I learned that when you interview someone you need to always stay calm and have confidence in yourself,” said seventh grader John Petillo.

“When you want to do an interview, you always have to be prepared. You need to always put your effort into it. Also that when you are asking your questions, you have to speak up to make sure the person you are interviewing understands what you are saying,” said seventh grader Kamalpreet Kaur.

“I learned that conducting an interview is a long process. You always have to remember three main ideas when you want to have an interview. The first thing you have to do is make questions about the topic, next you have get into contact with the person you want to interview, practice what you are going to say, and then make the interview. I think the most important thing that I learned while interviewing is to always be prepared,” said seventh grader Pedro Maldonado.

“I think that all the students did a really good job with their interviews. They have prepared everything in order to have a good interview. They prepared everything by themselves. They have put so much effort into everything they did. All the students were able to take everything they learned and put their knowledge out into real world situations. Every student has learned that should always learn to make healthy choices when choosing what foods to eat. I think by interviewing, the students were able to improve their communication skills,” said Health & Wellness Discovery teacher Ms. Maldonado.

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