hey guys! Mei again.. well just wanted to agree with Allysa, im in the same lab with her and i love it as much as she does. always learning new things! i hope you guys are excited about coming to Sullivan! i dont want to bore you by making you read all this :) so just make sure to check out our facebook page and sullivan.edu and just familiarize yourself with this wonderful school.

Final Stretch

I can't express how much I truely LOVEEE this lab that I am in this quarter. Global Pastry Design & Techniques is AMAZING! The class is so laid back and involves no stress at all! Of course it is challenging, but it is our LAST LAB! Spending this time we have left with our friends while we can! After this quarter, some of us will be done and some will have our internships left. After that, many of us will move off to start our careers or decide to further our education. My choice is to further my education. One of these days, my dream is to become an Executive Pastry Chef and eventually have my own bakery. A little over a year ago, I would have never dreamed I would be where I am today. All it took was some hard work and my chef instructors and the competition team to push me to be the best I could possibly be.
This quarter we have also learned about gluten free baking! So many people have been diagnosed with gluten allergies and Celiac Disease. This means that their diets and food eating habits have to be changed alot. They can't eat regular bread, cookies, cake or brownies. The products available are extremely expensive and not the best tasting. This section of the lab especially interested me. When I was younger, my older brother was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. He has never really been able to eat desserts with us and now I can go home and make him some GREAT TASTING foods and desserts with no worries of him getting sick or even worse. The disease can kill you so this class has made quite an impact in my life!

Love these girls

Next quarter I will begin my INTERNSHIP! AHHHH! I haven't decided what I want to do. A bakery, hotel or restaurant?! They are all so different but I enjoy every aspect. Guess I will need to be making my decision soon as it is WEEK FOUR already!! crazy how time flies.
Last week, I had the opportunity to help out with a chef shadow day. It was amazing to see so many highschool seniors interested in becoming chefs and attending SU! My job was to help those students interested in the Baking program with their recipes for the day. I got the chance to answer questions and one girl told me that my experience at SU made her really want to become a student. Its amazing watching students grow and have such a passion for what I get to do every single day. :)

The start of my Minnie Mouse fat carving

-Allysa Taranto

Learning

I've been at Sullivan for over a year now. I've met some cool people and learned a lot more than expected. It never occurred to me that there would be than just going to class and doing homework. There's so much more to the "college experience" than that. And it's also not all about going to all the parties and partaking in every activity that goes against the rules. I've found out a lot about myself as a person, a student, a friend, a son, a brother, and a human being. And one of the things that is most important is to take everything as a learning experience. Everything will change and nothing stays the same. I've learned how to adapt with change pretty well and keep going despite what anyone tells me. And I've also learned to accept my mistakes and things that I've done that I probably shouldn't have done, and I try not to be so hard on myself. I'm still young, and I still have a lot to learn. And a lot more fun to have! No matter what happens to you, it's not the end of the world. Unless you want it to be!

Thanks,

Live, Love, Slay, Study

- Nikkos