Six years ago, I lost my father to suicide. When I lost him, I lost everything. I was only thirteen years old at the time. Since then, every day has been a financial struggle. My mom is a single mother with two kids, we don’t have a lot of money as is. When the time came for me to go to college my only options were scholarships and work. So that’s exactly what I did. In 2023 I completed scholarships and worked four different jobs to raise enough money to pay for school. My efforts paid off though. I was able to get enough money to pay for my first year of college at Johnson & Wales University, for a degree in Culinary Arts. To say it was a worthy investment would be an understatement. It was a dream come true. I don’t think I have ever been happier than at that school. Culinary Arts has been my life. Before I even started Highschool I was involved in local cooking summer camps. Once I got into high school though, I was rather lost. I was going into a new environment fresh off the loss of my father. However, at this school I was able to meet someone by the name of Chef Joshua Ogrodowski, and I can confidently say he saved my life. He introduced me to the school’s culinary program, and I fell in love with it. It gave me an outlet to put my emotions into. It kept my hands and my mind occupied, as well as giving me a goal to work towards. Through this program I was able to participate in a myriad of other opportunities. I joined the school’s competitive culinary team and participated in several competitions such as the ProStart program, skills USA, and even Disney’s Cook Around the World. That last one though, I had to fundraise for. I was able to raise roughly $18,000 to pay for the trip. I did this by selling frozen beverages and ice cream during the school lunch waves every day. Culinary is my life, I have given everything I have to pursue it. Now I just finished my second year at Johnson & Wales. I became a Resident Assistant, It is my job to maintain the safety and comfort of the residents in the dorm, and I love being able to do it. I was even rehired for the position this year. But I’m not done yet. I still have two more years I need to pay for, and I cannot do it alone. My future is in this industry. I want nothing more than to open a Soup Kitchen for the food insecure. It is our duty as chefs after all to feed the hungry, and there are a lot of hungry people who cannot afford to eat. But that’s far off I the future. Right now I need to finish school. With enough work, I know I can finish what I started.

Six years ago, I lost my father to suicide. When I lost him, I lost everything. I was only thirteen years old at the time. Since then, every day has been a financial struggle. My mom is a single mother with two kids, we don’t have a lot of money as is. When the time came for me to go to college my only real options were scholarships and work. So that’s exactly what I did. In 2023 I worked on scholarships and worked four different jobs in order to raise enough money to pay for school. My efforts paid off though. I was able to get enough money to pay for my first year of college at Johnson & Wales University, for a degree in Culinary Arts. To say it was a worthy investment would be an understatement. It was a dream come true. I don’t think I have ever been happier than at that school, where I can explore my passion and broaden my skills. Culinary Arts has been my life. Before I even started Highschool I was involved in local cooking summer camps. Once I got into high school though, I was rather lost. I was going into a new environment fresh off the loss of my father. However, at this school I was able to meet someone by the name of Chef Joshua Ogrodowski, and I can confidently say he saved my life. He introduced me to the school’s culinary program, and I fell in love with it. It gave me an outlet to put my emotions into. It kept my hands and my mind occupied, as well as giving me a goal to work towards. Through this program I was able to participate in a myriad of other opportunities. I joined the school’s competitive culinary team and participated in several competitions such as the ProStart program, skills USA, and even Disney’s Cook Around the World. That last one though, I had to fundraise for. I was able to raise roughly $18,000 to pay for the trip. I did this by selling frozen beverages and ice cream during the school lunch waves every day. Culinary is my life, I have given everything I have to pursue it. Now I just finished my second year at Johnson & Wales. In my first year I was a member of the Club of Culinary Excellence advisory board, I was part of the 50th anniversary gala, I even got to help out with the food and wine festival at Mohegan Sun. In my second year I became a Resident Assistant, which was a goal I had in my first year. It is my job to maintain the safety and comfort of the residents in the dorm, and I love being able to do it. I was even rehired for the position this year. But I’m not done yet. I still have two more years I need to pay for, and I cannot do it alone. My future is in this industry. I want nothing more than to have a restaurant to call my own. I would also like to open a Soup Kitchen for the food insecure. It is our duty as chefs after all to feed the hungry, and there are a lot of hungry people who cannot afford to eat. But that’s far off I the future. Right now, I just need to finish school. With enough work though, I know I can finish what I started. I know in my heart; I made my father very proud.