Olivia Russo
LV Life Editor
With Thanksgiving around the corner, many families will gather to feast on the traditional foods. While the existence of the holiday has questionable origins for some, it is an undeniable American tradition.
The classic meal for Thanksgiving includes turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce and either a pumpkin or apple pie. While those are considered the staples of the dinner, some students at the University of La Verne like to put a twist on the classic.
“Usually for the ham, I help over the ham because the turkey I’m a little scared of,” Yadhira Flores, junior sociology major, said. “I put some pineapple juice on top and then some cherries, to give it a sweet flavor.”
As for the turkey, Flores’ family tends to switch up the recipe every year.
“My mom cleans it for sure, and then she ends up putting some seasoning, every year is different,” Flores said. “It could be like a lemon pepper seasoning, a cajun seasoning, or mix and match.”
The most common way it seems to make the turkey is roasting it.
“Typically we started with letting it marinate the day before,” Isabella Laura, senior biology major, said. “Then we marinate it with a lot of butter and rosemary, and we let it sit. We make garlic butter on the side to put on the outside…then we start to put it in the oven for hours, probably for four hours or longer.”
Other students mostly share that they partake in the traditional foods set out for Thanksgiving including Emily Mendez, a freshman psychology major.
“We usually eat turkey, ham, biscuits, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and stuffing…” Mendez said. “My mom cuts up the ham and then she puts pineapple slices between each cut and then cooks it in the oven.”
For most, they are not as involved with the cooking process during the holidays, letting their parents take care of most of the work, especially their moms. Regardless, students always look forward to going home for the food and time spent with their families.
“I just get to show up and eat everything,” Andrew Bernal, junior history major, said. “We have pretty much the standards: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce. I got a really good brisket last year.”
Bernal, shared that he does not question how his family makes their food, but knows that it is always something to look forward to.
“It’s normally my aunt that prepares the turkey and I don’t know what she does, but I trust her,” Bernal said.
While most of the time, many families will have both turkey and ham on the table, some just pick one or the other.
“We do the turkey,” Samantha Campos, senior psychology major, said. “We used to do ham but we stopped because no one really liked it.”
In addition to the classic Thanksgiving meal, some add side dishes inspired by other cultures, like Lola Hills, freshman child development and legal studies major, whose stepmom includes foods that are not as common.
“My stepmom would make either gumbo or jambalaya or red beans and rice,” Hills said.
When describing her plate, Hills mixes the traditional American Thanksgiving plate with her own culture.
“I always have honey cornbread,” Hills said. “I have a big, fat slice of honey glazed ham, with red beans and rice and cornbread.”
On the other hand, senior psychology major, Janine Sevillana, incorporates her Filipino heritage into her meal.
“Usually my aunt or uncle hosts a potluck and they’ll do it at their home,” Sevillana said. “It’s like a potluck, there are some of the traditional foods but they’ll also buy lumpia, Filipino barbecue, a type of Filipino noodle like Pancit.”
Sevillana said that usually her traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes turkey, ham, mac and cheese and cornbread.
Olivia Russo can be reached at olivia.russo@laverne.edu.
Olivia Russo is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print/online journalism and a minor in criminology. She is the Editor-in-Chief for the Campus Times for Spring 2026. She has previously served as the News Editor, LV Life Editor, a photographer and a staff writer for the Campus Times, as well as a staff writer and photographer for La Verne Magazine.
