Last night I officially finished the classroom portion of my education at the Institute of Culinary Education. In other words, I graduated!!!
And while my culinary education won’t be entirely complete until I finish my restaurant externship (which starts this saturday?!?!), it felt oh-so-good to celebrate all our hard work and everything we’ve learned with not just our classmates, but our family and friends who have been supporting us through it all.
Going to culinary school was just a dream for me for so long, but it was in large part due to the support and encouragement of my friends and loved ones that I took the step to make this dream a reality. And while the future is a mystery, the past year that I spent at the Institute of Culinary Education was the greatest adventure I’ve embarked on yet. I was challenged, often pushed to my physical and mental limits, and in turn felt more rewarded than I’ve ever felt before.
Oh, and my classmates. While I expected, coming in to culinary school, to learn great things about cooking, I never expected to make some of the best friends I could ask for. Last night, as I looked around the celebration at our Grand Buffet that we spent 13 hours working together on, surrounding me were people from all walks of life, backgrounds, nationalities, and situations. We all have different stories, and different goals for this degree. But we were brought together with a common purpose, and through that journey we created great bonds of friendship, despite any differences among us. And that, I believe, is the greatest gift of all.
And now, it seems, it is time for the next adventure…
Congratulations Christine! You worked very hard this year and it was great to read about your progress. I hope you continue to keep us posted during your restaurant externship.
Good Luck! ~ Malvina
Any accomplishment is to be rewarded. Congratuations on your hard work. My mother always said “No education is a waste”. I received a scholarship for a field I was not interested in, but my mother said to “go – you never know when you will need the knowledge” AND she was right! Good luck in your future and I will be watching on Twitter…Warrenette
Thanks for the congratulations, I really appreciate it! Agree that education is never a waste – in fact, my mother always says that too
Aren’t mothers wonderful. Keep it up
Couldn’t be prouder or happier for you, as one of your supporter/loved ones. I know your future is bright and happy.
Love, Dad
Congratulations!
Thank you!