Culinary Program
Read about Chi Cynthia Nguyen, a 2015 graduate of College of The Albemarle’s (COA) Culinary Arts program.
In 2011, COA was one of only seven North Carolina community colleges to receive funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Accelerating Opportunity Grant. The grant allowed COA to send eligible adult learners without their high school diplomas or equivalency to dual enroll at the school and pursue a secondary program of study while completing their high school degree requirements.
Nguyen, a native of Vietnam, is one of the first students who benefited from the Accelerating Opportunities program.
After graduating from high school in Philadelphia in 1993, Nguyen soon started a family, sidelining any plans for continuing her education. In 2008, the family relocated to Camden County. Three years later, Nguyen’s life changed when she and her children’s father ended their more than 20-year relationship.
At that point, Nguyen decided she had to do something for herself. At the advice of faculty and staff at Grandy Primary School in Camden, where Nguyen volunteered, she decided to go back to school. She already had her high school diploma but thought she needed to brush up on some subject areas so she enrolled in COA’s College and Career Readiness program for some refresher courses.
She grew stronger both academically and personally with each challenge. BAT, COA and Workforce Investment Act were there to support her until she achieved her goal: selection into the culinary program.
Due to her dedication and outstanding attitude, Nguyen was selected for the culinary program, a two-year work study program that is just one of COA’s nine Accelerating Transitions Career Pathways. Nguyen received financial aid from the Workforce Investment Act, which gave her the tuition and books, childcare and gas money for travel to the Edenton-Chowan Campus where the program is located. She is living proof that lives can be dramatically transformed when federal, state and local agencies work together for the good of the community and its people.
“As a single mother of four who lived in Camden, Nguyen needed as much financial and supplemental academic support as we could extend to her to remove any barriers preventing her from fulfilling her dream of becoming a chef,” stated Wendy Pollard-Boyle, then the Basic Skills Plus coordinator .
Nguyen graduated in May 2015 with her Culinary Arts Certificate. But without the financial assistance from the Workforce Investment Act and the dual enrollment in the Accelerated Opportunity program, she said she never would have realized her dream.
“They helped me pay for tuition, books, gas and daycare after school,” said Nguyen, who served an internship with Camden County Public Schools, where she now works preparing students’ meals.
She also plans on pursuing an advanced culinary arts degree through an online course at Johnson & Wales University. “I’m really excited and really thankful,” Nguyen said. “I’m looking forward to a better future.”