Hi, I’m Zoila Zuñiga, but calling me Zoila is just fine, I was named after my Dads mother. I was born August 21, 2005. I’m currently 18 years old and I’ve lived my whole life in the Bronx. I just graduated from High School of Hospitality Management. I’m now majoring in Hospitality Management at city tech. I live with both my Mexican parents and 4 older brothers and two younger ones. Growing up with such a big family was uncommon and very chaotic. But nonetheless we are very family oriented and always spent most of our days and time together. We were and still are each other’s closest friends. As the youngest daughter my parents and older siblings always reassured me that I was loved and taken care of.Â
As I was growing up I was always passionate about cooking, specifically baking. I’ll always mimic my favorite baking videos in my parents’ kitchen to act like I was actually baking when in reality I was pinching some salt into my boiling water. I knew I was too shy and scared to do it in front of my family or even tell them I was interested , cuz I thought it was too embarrassing. When I chose my High School I saw it had culinary classes, once I saw that my dreams and silly thoughts of my passion about baking rose back up again. I was so excited to attend those classes but unfortunately the first years didn’t have those classes and shortly after a few months being in High School COVID-19 hit. So I spent the rest of my freshmen and sophomore year online and didn’t have any culinary classes until we came back our junior year. Once junior year started I did have culinary class but I didn’t take it seriously as much until the end of my junior year when I joined the C-CAP program for kids that want to pursue their culinary career and with joining that program I got an internship for the summer at a bakery. The upcoming year I was told there was a cooking competition to win scholarships to culinary schools and cash scholarships for your college needs. I never thought I could have an opportunity like this and with a lot of struggle and practice. I did end up winning a scholarship here to city tech for hospitality management and a cash scholarship as well. It was a pretty exciting year for me and it was a pretty great experience overall.
But one of my dreams is to travel the world with my parents and try out different cuisines, to just travel anywhere that’s not the U.S. I know there’s more beautiful places and great amazing food out there. I would love to experience this with my parents and show them how big the world is. Lastly, I would absolutely be grateful if I could visit my parents home with them, to learn more about our culture and food as well.Â
A really lovely intro. I can’t imagine growing up in a family of 7 kids! It’s wonderful that you are a close family — I envy that.
I am interested to find out more about your culinary passions.
You might consider using this as the seed of a future scene in your Ed Narrative. This could be a scene that introduces your early passions for cooking.
YOU write: I’ll always mimic my favorite baking videos in my parents’ kitchen to act like I was actually baking when in reality I was pinching some salt into my boiling water. I knew I was too shy and scared to do it in front of my family or even tell them I was interested , cuz I thought it was too embarrassing. — Can you SHOW me that scene? Reach back into your memory. What was the kitchen like — describe it! What was the name of the video and what did it look like? Describe it! Why did certain video spark your little girl’s interest? Were you wearing an apron? Did you have a baking spoon in your little hand? SHOW ME THIS SCENE — it’s very cute.
THEN what about a scene of the internship at the bakery? Or — give me a good description and then explanation of what you gained from this internship — it sounds like a crucial step in your development as a culinary student.