On October 7, students at Viterbo University gathered on the first floor of the nursing building to enjoy a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. The dinner is an annual tradition that is planned and organized by Viterbo’s Student Dietetics Association (SDA).  

The doors were opened from 4:30 until 7:30 p.m. which allowed students to arrive at a time that best suited their schedules. In total, the dinner served around 190 people, including athletic teams such as soccer, baseball and dance. The dinner, which was open to all members of the community, also served the Honors Group and Viterbo’s class of 1972.  

Tickets for the dinner were sold in the weeks leading up to the event. Prices were $14 for community members and a discounted price of $12 for Viterbo students. Each attendee had the choice between marinara or alfredo noodles, with meatballs or chicken, served with the side of corn and a dinner roll. The food was put together by dietetic students, specifically students enrolled in Quantity Food Production (NUTR-351) which is designed for third-year dietetic majors.  

Amongst the juniors enrolled in this class was Maddie Suchomel, one of the organizers for the dinner. When asked about the attendance of the event, Suchomel said, “More people came than I anticipated. There was a lot going on at Viterbo tonight with the Volleyball team hosting their rival Bellevue and I knew a lot of people were excited to go to that. However, the numbers at the dinner were high and I think a bunch of people managed to do both, which was nice.”   

Suchomel was hoping for high numbers because she put in a lot of preparatory advertisement work leading up to the dinner. “I was in charge of the marketing and decorating the event, so designing all of the graphics for our advertisement and decorating the rooms was probably my favorite part and was a good experience for me.” High attendance numbers speak to Suchomel’s efforts. 

Ultimately, Suchomel says the dinner was a major success, but there could definitely be improvements in the future. “I would do the payment transaction a little differently,” Suchomel says. “A lot of people filled out the form saying they were coming, so we made them a meal, but the payment didn’t necessarily add up. I think that a physical ticket could be turned in with a payment, or an online form that accepts payment could be used to ensure that the numbers add up.”  

Despite this, Suchomel described the feedback of attendees as being very positive. “There were a lot of familiar faces in attendance and I asked groups of tables how they were enjoying their food and everyone said it was really good and that they wished they could have more, which was awesome to hear. I’m glad we could organize a dinner that was tasty.”  With such success this year, spaghetti lovers on campus and around the community will be counting down the days until the annual Viterbo tradition returns again next year.