I have always wanted to cook since high school and wanted to culinary arts in college. However, growing up as a first-generation Chinese American meant that expectations were to get a good paying job that can support me, my parents and my future family, and culinary arts just was not an option given to me. Therefore, I temporarily had to give it up.

During my past five years in college, I have been rediscovering myself and looking for other paths, but I still wanted to cook (or at least do something related to food), and had opportunities to volunteer at my church, do prep work for SUNY Buffalo Dining Services, and work at the Qdoba right around my home. I started to learn about what hospitality is and I realized that there are ways to pursue my dream and also meet the expectations of my parents and grandparents. Then early this year, that was when I discovered CityTech’s Hospitality Management program.

In the future, I still do want to cook, but I am open to other options that CityTech has to offer me. I am really looking forward to this semester and working with everyone for the next few years!