Cindy Weiss
After 10 years of being out of school, I stepped onto the campus of Lake Washington Technical College (LWTC) greeted by a warm welcome into a family instead of an institution.
I liked the fact that LWTC was small, at least it felt that way, and it was easy to get to know the students--lots of students, not just my culinary classmates! The staff was willing to help, especially since tuition was a problem for me. Their goal was to make sure all I had to do was study hard and to let them worry about finding funds for my education.
I now proudly hold my Certificate in Commercial Cooking, which I received with magna cum laude honors, and will complete my Associates degree in Culinary Arts in August, 2005. I've also decided to continue classes at LWTC through next year to earn as many transferable credits as possible before studying at Washington State University for my bachelors degree in Hospitality Business Management.
I dropped out of high school in the tenth grade, but here I am an active member of Phi Theta Kappa where I head the "adopt a soldier program." I also take pride in my 3.83 GPA at LWTC.
My success continues. I am a member of the American Culinary Federation and competed for LWTC in the recent Knowledge Bowl held in Sacramento. I'll also travel to Milan, Italy this August with fifteen fellow classmates and two instructors to study under Italian master chefs. This trip was arranged by former LWTC culinary instructor Rino Baglio and is being paid for by the Italian government.
I plan to start in the culinary industry as a chef and finish my BA, so in years to come I will be able to run a successful restaurant, not just work in one!
Looking back, I not only thank LWTC for this opportunity for success, but also thank my dear mom for putting up with this sometimes wild teenager, and never giving up on me.
With the words of a trusted friend, "Why don't you do something you love for a career? You love to cook," here I am today diving into a career that's already taking me places I've never dreamed of.
