If you’re like me when I was in the associate degree program, you’re not sure if you want to pursue a CIA bachelor’s degree. Well, there’s no better way to ease your mind than to hear the reasons why current students and alumni chose the bachelor’s program. Here are seven of them, starting with my very own…
1. I chose a CIA bachelor’s degree because I knew that one day I wanted to open a restaurant. The CIA’s food business management degree with a concentration in intrapreneurship gave me practical resources, and ideas to start. Not to mention, we got to open a restaurant on campus! Where else can you do that?
–Sean Morrill, BBA, Food Business Management, Intrapreneurship, 2017
2. I chose to do the bachelor’s program because of the advanced baking concentration. The program was an amazing experience from start to finish and really expanded my knowledge!
-Elizabeth Laughlin, BBA, Food Business Management, Advanced Principles in Baking and Pastry, 2017
3. The main reason I chose the bachelor’s program was that I felt that the CIA was the only place where I could earn an education that was completely food-focused, no matter what. And in all honesty, I just wasn’t ready to leave. When I made my decision to stay for bachelor’s, I looked beyond the idea of furthering my education and realized there was more to it than that; I wanted to allow myself to grow and the bachelor’s program helped me to do that.
-Stephanie Smida, Pastry Cook, Blackberry Farms; BPS, Culinary Science, 2017
4. I chose to get a bachelor’s at the CIA because I wanted to learn the business side of the industry that I am passionate about.
-Katherine Merrick, BBA, Food Business Management, 2017
5. I chose the CIA bachelor’s program because I really enjoyed the fact I could go to one school for my associate and bachelor’s degrees. When I researched different schools, I would not have gotten the hands-on experience alongside a bachelor’s degree. I would have had to attend two schools for two degrees and that did not appeal to me. I knew the AOS program had the best instructors and chefs so my expectations for the bachelor’s program were high—and I have not been disappointed. I would not trade my CIA education for anything. I am extremely happy I found a school that has a hands-on associate degree and an instructional bachelor’s degree in one place.
–Elora Duffet, BBA, Food Business Management, Intrapraneurship, 2018
6. I didn’t just want to work in the back of the house. I wanted to be exposed to more of a well-rounded liberal arts education as compared to the structure of the associate degree. This allowed me to focus on a specific path within the food industry. The Applied Food Studies degree program helped me discover my goal to work in food policy.
–Daniel Salisbury, Chef-in-Training, Brigaid; BPS, Applied Food Studies, 2017
7. Graduating from AOS was a few weeks out. I was an RA at the CIA at Greystone with students from Hyde Park as some of my residents. I got to talking with them and one student let me know about the Applied Food Studies bachelor’s degree. Up to that point, I had not heard of it—I’d only heard about the BBA with the concentration in wines, farm to table, or advanced baking. I looked further into it and was amazed at the classes offered for the major. After applying and being immediately accepted for a spot in the program, I graduated AOS, moved across the country, and started school in Hyde Park in a span of a week! What a whirlwind. I graduated in eight months. I really enjoyed my time with the AFS program, far more than I had expected. The AFS faculty is unstoppable. Dr. Zhen, Dr. Murphy, Dr. Costura, and Dr. Forrest made my short time in the bachelor’s program fantastic by pushing us and believing in us so we could harness our true capabilities.
–Ramona Nahapetian, Office, and Restaurant Accounts Manager, Masienda; BPS, Applied Food Studies, 2017
by Sean Morrill
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