by James Payne, November 14, 2019

I have been a student at Kendall College for over three years. In that time I have earned an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor Degree in Restaurant Management. While some quarters were more difficult than others, I never felt alone, thanks to the staff of Kendall, the Kendall College Trust and of course my family and friends.

The Kendall College Trust has made a huge impact on my college career since I first applied three years ago. Since then, every year, they have believed in my passion for this industry, and my devotion to my education. I will be forever grateful to the Kendall College Trust and all its donors for believing in me, and the recipients now and in the years to come.

During my time at Kendall, I built my career with The Cheesecake Factory. The company saw my passion for food, cooking and their restaurants and recently promoted me to Kitchen Manager. Conveniently during my final internship. As my training comes to an end, I have decided to move to Grand Rapids, Michigan to help open up and manage the new Cheesecake Factory restaurant that just opened up. I am so excited to start my career in a new city, new home, and new restaurant.

As I finish packing and saying goodbye to all my friends and family, I will never forget where I started from. I started off as an open-minded culinary student learning how to perfectly cut an onion and educating myself on the strengths of industry leaders. Now, I am taking the skills I have learned and managing my own team and passing on my knowledge. I am so excited to take my accomplishments and skills that I have learned from Kendall wherever life may take me.

Thank You Everyone

“Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.” -Ratatouille