Meet Me Half Way

     So we are half way through the quarter and I can't even believe that we are this far! Five weeks of learning and studying new material all to come down to midterms that I feel pretty confident on! In fact, the 92% on my Advanced Technique in Breads final was such a relief! 

     We had an extra day to practice, special thanks to Chef Straw, and so many of my nerves were calmed that first day. Then day one of my midterms, I had to bake the horns of the cream horns and make my dough for the egg bread. Not to bad, and a quick day, with a lot of time to clean. Then on day two, the fun started to pick up. I divided out my dough for my six knots and the three portions for my braid, as they bench rested I started my turnovers, filling them and chilling them. I finished off my bread by rolling it out, forming the braid and knots, and getting them into the Proofer after a slight egg wash was applied. Everything was falling into place. I filled my cream horns and began washing up my dishes before my food went into the oven. My turnovers went in just after my bread that had proofed to the max, I feared they may have started to over proof. But, being one of the first people to put my food in the oven meant that there were several other people that began to oven the oven door letting all the heat escape. My bread came out perfect without a flaw other than the rolls not being as shiny as the braid (I used a more watered down egg wash on the rolls than the braid). My turnovers, however, were taking forever. because the lost in heat wouldn't allow the puff pastry to rise like it should. Finally, they puffed up in the last few minutes and had a slight golden color from the sugar on top. I was ready to present with time to spare and it all was worth it. I do owe a thank you to Chef Woerhle, my theory instructor, for making us write out a work plan even though Chef Straw didn't require it, because by planing out every step to the precise  five minutes helped me get my head together and it definitely helped calm my nerves. 

     On top of all the excitement of midterms, two friends and I signed and were approved for our new apartment, and we started our scheduling for the next quarter! Tentatively, I'm scheduled from 7AM to 2PM with four classes, one being Modern Pastry Technique were you get to work with chocolate and do some cake work (I Love Cake!!!!).  Even though I have had a busy week with school and working twenty-five hours on top of it, I have also had such a exciting and fun week! I hope everyone else is having an awesome time with their learning and life, because I couldn't choose a better place to be a student at then Sullivan University.

                                                                                                               -Hunter Erbentraut 

                                                                                                               Baking and Pastry Arts Major

Next Chapter

I have been anxious lately, and I've been wondering why. The feeling came to be at the beginning of this week, which is "Advising week." It seems scheduling my classes for next quarter showed me how little time is left before I graduate. There is only a few more quarters left, and I'm ready to get going! I'm ready to see what else is out there for me. I want to see what everyone is talking about when they say how challenging life is. I have vigorous motivation that will always be there to keep me going. I feel like a schoolkid again anxious for his first day at high school. I'm just ready to see what else is out there for me!

Thanks,

Live, Love, Slay, Study

- Nikkos

love what you do!

AHHH! Its midterm’s week ALREADY! I can hardly believe it! Time to crack down and study hard, the quarter will be over before you know it! I can't wait to see new smiling faces walking the halls! I've been one busy lady this quarter. These past 5 weeks have been literally nonstop for me! Since I started the quarter I have 2 classes in morning, my internship, a job, and now another job I'm about to start as well! The only days I've had off so far is when I went home for Easter! I know your probably thinking,"dang that's whole lot, why would anyone want to do all that?" My answer to you would be, "This is my passion, I'm doing what I love, and I wouldn't change it for anything. The hectic craziness, sleepless late nights, and stress are completely worth it. Every bit of it is molding me more and more to who I am and who I'm going to be. It all makes me stronger and better in my career field." Culinary/Baking and Pastry is my complete life and has been since I was a little girl and I couldn’t be happier with life than where I am right now! Now, I challenge you to follow your dreams and do whatever it takes to accomplish them! Trust me it’s an amazing feeling! :)

                     Gabrielle :)

activities!

hey guys! hope you all are excited because college life is getting closer and closer! it'll be here before you know it! i wanted to share one of the many things to look forward when coming to Sullivan. we have the student activities website... ya'll should check it out! these are great opportunities to have fun and enjoy the college life.. http://www.sullivan.edu/student-activities/
-Mei.

Life Changing Experiences

Carryin my cake to load up before the
trip to CINCI!

The judge that gave me a perfect
score giving me my award!

    Last month, I competed in my first competition! It was soo exciting! The 11 weeks before the competition taught me soo much. Winning gold was just a plus. Its not about the shiny medals, its about what you take back with you. Looking back on the first week of working on the piece, i realize that i didnt know anything. I didnt even know what royal icing was, let alone how to pipe with it.

After award! :)

Me working on my piece with Chef
Spendlove! He's in charge of the
Baking Program & the baking team!

     One of the judges told me something that really made me realize that what we do is truely amazing! He hadnt given a perfect score in over 20 years & he had given me, out of all people a perfect score. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had. You never realize how much of an impact the things you do can have on people. I can't wait to see where this career takes me, because this is only the beginning. & its all gonna get better from here. :)

Before the cake was judged! :)

    June marks a year since ive started school here at Sullivan University. Seems like time flies by. I've learned so much from my chefs. They are all fantastic people & amazing at what they do. This quarter, I am in MPT or Modern Pastry Techniques, previously known as Classical. We have been working with all kinds of fun stuff!  Breads and basic desserts are nice, but I want to do the more extreme things! Cakes, chocolate work, plated desserts and tortes. I finally found what I truely love about baking and pastry! In a few short months, many of you will be here on campus with us!

-Allysa

Exploring and Taking Risks

College is an important time in everyones life. Being in college means it is time to start taking risks and exploring your options. I have come to learn that a culinary degree opens up thousands of doors all over the world. Recently I took a trip to Seattle (by myself) to explore my options. I know that Seattle is a place that I would like to end up at some point in my life, therefore I took the risk and traveled there for spring break to make sure it was right for me. I fell in love, but I know there are a ton of steps I need to take before I can get there. Sullivan also holds an incredible career fair which showcases many fantastic businesses that will be a great way to get experience in your field. I met tons of amazing people, who I know want to help me get my foot in the culinary door. For me, it is important to take the risks that will lead me in the right direction for my future. If you don't take risks and put yourself out there, you may never find what is right for you. You will find things you are good at and things that you absolutely hate, but if you don't try you will never know. Just remember, there is no holding back when you are doing something you love.

Welcome to Spring!

Hey! I hope everyone is enjoying these blog posts and learning more about the wonderful opportunities here at Sullivan. First off, I should probably introduce myself. My name is Carrie Scheiber and this is my 3rd Quarter here at Sullivan, but my first quarter as a new Student Ambassador. I am currently working on my Professional Baker's Diploma, while also pursuing an Associate's in Business Management. My dream is to someday own my own bakery in a small town setting. I love small towns, especially since I'm from one! My hometown is named Kendallville and it is in Northern Indiana, about 4.5 hours from Louisville. It's about 30 minutes from Ft. Wayne, if you've ever heard of that. :)
    After only being here for about 7 months, I've already learned so many things! In my first Baking Lab, I truly enjoyed making such a variety of baked products. You name the dessert, and we probably made some form of it. I think my favorite week was plated dessert week because it included molten chocolate lava cake, creme brulee, and bananas foster (just to name a few.) Currently, I am in Baking 2 which focuses primarily on breads and the artisan process. All of the chefs that I've had in class have been so knowledgeable and helpful in showing me all aspects of a baking career. I've also gotten better at working with other people because of how teamwork based our lab classes are. I would definitely encourage anyone who has a passion for food to check out Sullivan University!

Delicious, gooey Molten Chocolate Lava Cake with macerated berries.

Super cute (and tasty) layered carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

Me (on the left) and my awesome roommate Amanda enjoying some sunshine (and the view of the bridge) at Waterfront Park.

    Besides going to school, the city of Louisville also has a lot to offer. I've enjoyed playing tennis at Seneca Park, walking along the Ohio River at Waterfront Park, visiting the Slugger Museum, enjoying the tasting food and unique setting at Lynn's Paradise Cafe, and much more. There really is a lot to see and do if you just explore it.
    I hope that you've enjoyed reading about me, and I would LOVE to get to know you. If you have any questions or would just like to chat, feel free to contact me either via this blog or on one of the Sullivan Facebook pages. Hope you all are having a great week!
(And here are a few pictures showing some of my experiences here at Sullivan.) :)

La Pieta

This is my second sculpture, La Pieta


The original piece was completed by Michelangelo Buonarroti, all the way back in 1499. La Pieta happens to be the only work Michelangelo ever put his signature on. Now, the sculpture resides in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. Michelangelo's breathtaking work is portraying Jesus after his crucification, laid across  Mother Mary's lap. 
Breathtaking is the very reason I felt compelled to recreate this masterpiece. Even though the sculpture is beautiful alone, the meaning behind it spoke louder. This piece reflects my beliefs, and is a very dominant portion of my life that affects me day by day. 


As a result, I brought home a silver metal after the competition. I have never been so proud of my work. 

Tell me about you....

Hey loyal blog readers,

I have spent months telling you about myself and now I want to hear about you. I want to hear about school, work, friends, family, prom, graduation, excitements, fear, expectations, regrets, future plans... Anything you want to tell me I will listen. Especially high school students, everyone who writes in this blog has probably been in the same situation you are. Share it with us, laugh with us, cry with us, dance with us, love with us, but most importantly live with us. You are living a crazy beautiful wounderful life just like the rest of us... So why not share the experience :))))
Feel free to comment...........NOW!!!!

Carly
(if anyone wants to share in private i can be added on facebook as well )

Busy, Busy, Busy

It has been a busy couple of weeks for me. Over break I used my skills in Hardware Troubleshooting to build a computer with my friend that is now up and running with Windows 7 installed on it. Last week was the first week of the quarter. I have to say, I love all of my classes so far, all of them have something interesting to teach me. This past weekend I went to the State Leadership Conference with Sullivan University’s chapter of Phi Beta Lambda and competed in two competitions.

Me Working on the Computer

Building the computer was a wonderful experience. It was hard at first trying to figure out what to do next and what needed to go where. With the class at school we had only worked with fixing individual pieces of the computer. I had to take all of those little pieces and integrate them together to make a complete and working machine.

Our Chapter Members at the Competition

At the time, with the competition coming up, it was hard to concentrate on how fun the classes were because I knew how much studying I had to do. The studying paid off though.

My Two Awards

 I won two first place awards, one in Help Desk and the other in Computer Concepts. The rest of the competitors in Phi Beta Lambda also did very well, almost everyone who went placed. This means that in June that we are all going to the National Leadership Conference in San Antonio, Texas. 

I am so excited for this wonderful experience.

~Elisabeth Feeley