NMC’s culinary experts are taking student success to the big leagues! Armed with their passion for education—and accompanied by Swoop—Julia Sheerin, RD, and April Hackert, MS, RD, recently hit the road for Detroit. Sponsored by CIE, this dynamic duo visited Comerica Park for a firsthand look at real-world operations and to support the Great Lakes Culinary Institute’s very first Performance Nutrition intern. Check out their reflections and photos below to see how this incredible professional development trip is shaping the future of one of NMC’s newest career tracks!
What was the name of the conference/PD opportunity you attended?
We were representing GLCI by visiting our first Performance Nutrition student who is interning with the Detroit Tigers.
When and where did the event take place?
Saturday May 16, 2026, Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan.
Please share details from a memorable keynote speaker, conference session, or something else notable from the event.
We met with the entire Performance Nutrition team supporting the Tigers. We were able to tour the facility, kitchen and Clubhouse to see how real world operations function vs the teaching environment. Their executive Chef Eric, and their performance dietitian Maureen provided a world of meaningful information and feedback, allowing us to fine-tune our teaching to ensure graduates are ready to meet the unique demands of the teams they will cook for. And, of course, we got to watch our graduate Brenden in action, showing us what he does on a daily basis, and providing information about the skills he is developing. His entire kitchen team is outstanding, showing us how each person has unique and valuable skill sets to make the team whole. We simply could not gain the knowledge we did in any other manner, seeing is believing! It reinforced the commitment we have to this new career track and will drive our future endeavors, including the relationships to performance teams for future internship and employment opportunities.
How likely are you to recommend this opportunity to a colleague?
Very Likely
Do you have any big takeaways that you’ll be applying to your pedagogy in the near future?
Continual improvement and commitment to the new Performance Nutrition pathway were reinforced. We hope to continue these important connections in the future. And that Swoop had a great time. 🙂
Is there anything else you’d like CIE or your colleagues at NMC to know about this experience?
These personal connections strengthen our partnerships and give a great platform to promote all we are doing. Thank you for supporting our mission and dreams for our students, both present and future.