Page 48 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2020

BUSINESS INDUSTRY &
Two-Year Triumph
Culinary Technology Student Is First Collegiate Academy Graduate in State to Complete a Career or Technical Program story and photo courtesy of MGCCC
Aaliyah Brown of Gulfport completed the Culinary Arts Technology program
at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC) in May as a Collegiate Academy student, earning her high school diploma and associate degree simultaneously. She is the rst Collegiate Academy student in the state to complete a career or technical program, and she already has big plans of starting her own food boutique.
“I grew up around people cooking,” she said. “My grandmother was a big cook, and my parents always urged me and my siblings to try new foods and experience di erent cultures. My grandmother would watch Food Network all of the time, copy the recipes as she watched and then cook them. It was a great experience for me in learning how to cook.”
This year, she plans to gain experience in the eld before opening her own business, Lili’s Sweet & Savory Food Boutique.
Initially, she was not interested in Collegiate Academy, though her high school counselor encouraged her to consider it. “I thought Collegiate Academy was only o ered to students who wanted to complete two years
of academics and then move on to a university. That was not what I wanted. When my counselor at the high school, Ms. Marsha Bishop, told me the exciting news that I could complete a two-year technical program, that got me hooked.”
Chef Todd Reilly, Culinary Arts Technology instructor, said that Brown was an excellent choice to pilot the program through Collegiate Academy.
“Aaliyah is a very dedicated, intelligent student who was not interested in attending a four-year college,” he said. “She was always prepared for class and has a passion to learn that is rare. The maturity in which she carries herself is a model for much older students. I could not have asked for a better choice to be our rst Academy student.”
Brown said the best parts of training in the Culinary program was the real-world experience. “At MGCCC, I was able to cater events at the Hospitality Resort Management Center, which makes a world of di erence in being prepared for your career,” she said.
For more information about Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College contact 228-896-2536 or questions@mgccc.edu
48 | July 2020
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
Aaliyah Brown