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16 March 22, 2010 www.ccweek.com Blindness Doesn’t Dampen Dreams of Student Chef BY NATALIE NEYSA ALUND, THE (BRADENTON) HERALD BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — If she doesn’t know what it is, she sniffs it. Or feels it. Or tastes it. Culinary arts student Gabrielle Lozano is blind, so she cooks with her other senses. This summer, the 20-year-old woman is slated to graduate from Manatee Technical Institute in Bradenton and enter the workforce — as a chef. “People ask me all the time, ‘How is it possible that she cooks’ — says her mother Pam Lozano. “They ask, ‘Does she have some sight’ I tell them no. She is completely blind, reads Braille and uses a cane to get around.” Her daughter was born with little sight and at age 3, lost all of it from a brain tumor on her optic nerve. “Since she’s been about 8 or 9, she started helping me with dinner and just loved it,” her mother says. And Gabrielle Lozano, who graduated in 2008 in the top 10 percent of her high school class with a 4.0 GPF, claims she was much younger when she got hooked. “It started when I was little,” says Lozano, who lives in Parrish with her mom, dad Joe and younger brother Marc. “I was around my grandmother and greatgrandmother when they were cooking.” When she wasn’t in the kitchen with them, she was sitting near a television listening to the Food Network. After that, she started making her own recipes. Her personal favorite “I make a good banana fritter with pie dough, bananas and chocolate chips,” she said. “I bake it and sprinkle powdered sugar on it.” She also likes making soup and apple pie. Finding a school that would take a blind student who aspired to be a cook was a challenge. When her mother began searching for a culinary arts program, no one would return her phone calls. “They thought it was like a joke, ‘Hi, my daughter is blind and wants to learn how to cook,’” her mother said. Then she called MTI. Chef instructor Garry Colpitts agreed to meet with her daughter. “I was skeptical, but I have an open mind — and you know what She was very determined and she convinced us,’’ Colpitts says. “Gabby’s just inspiring.” Gabrielle Lozano chops turnip greens at the Vantage Point Cafe, located at the Professional Support Center for the Manatee County School Board, in Bradenton, Fla. Lozano is blind and will soon graduate from MTI’s culinary arts program this summer. When her mother began searching for a culinary arts program, no one would return her phone calls. “They thought it was like a joke,” her mother said. “‘Hi, my daughter is blind and wants to learn how to cook.’” This past year, she’s been learning from chef instructor Bert Spagnola at MTI’s east campus on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard. Lozano doesn’t need any assistance while in the kitchen. Especially at school. “I do it all on my own,’’ Lozano said. “The other students tease me here because sometimes I know where things are and the other kids don’t. They say, ‘I can’t find this, I can’t find that’ and the others say, ‘Go ask Gabby.” When it comes to seasoning, she generally uses her sense of smell. Some non-scented similar-textured items are labeled in Braille. “Sometimes if I shake a jar, like peppercorn, I can tell by the size of it what it is,” she said. If she still can’t figure what something is, she tastes it. Her class work — knife skills included — is impeccable. “Out of all the students very few escape getting cut,” Spagnola says. “I’ve never seen her cut herself.” Her talent, Spagnola adds, doesn’t stop at cooking. “She’s a pro at needlepoint and she’s an incredible artist,” Spagnola says. “Once I saw her draw Easter bunnies and asked her what AP PHOTO/BRADENTON HERALD, GRANT JEFFRIES she was doing. She said, ‘I’m making a coloring book for kids at Camp Eagle Nest for kids with disabilities.’ If I closed my eyes and tried to do a rabbit, you’d see an eye here and a nose over there. She’s amazing.” Her class this spring will take part in a vocational program competition called SkillsUSA in Kansas City. One part of the competition includes creating a restaurant. “She drew up her own blueprints for the kitchen. They were good,” Spagnola says. A part of her work study for the culinary arts program is cooking breakfast and lunch at the school. “She is beyond awesome. People have seen her in the cafeteria and have no idea that she is blind,” says MTI Director Mary Cantrell. “She is a charming, wonderful lady. She never once considers herself handicapped.” Lozano is on track to graduate from MTI’s culinary arts program in June. She hopes her accomplishments help others pursue similar dreams. “Maybe it will inspire other visually impaired kids to do the same,” Lozano says. After she graduates, Lozano wants to work in a small cafe or restaurant, and eventually open a sandwich and bake shop. Her family and friends think that will be a piece of cake. Notes her mom: `She doesn’t let anything stand in her way.” Comments: editor@ccweek.com
www.ccweek.com March 22, 2010 17 Wyo. College President Disavows Religion-Based Recruiting POWELL, Wyo. (AP) — The president of Northwest College in Powell says he’ll keep religion out of his recruitment efforts after a recent mailing to Mormon high school students raised ire on campus. Paul Prestwich wrote an e-mail to students and faculty members on saying religion won’t be the focus of the school’s formal recruitment efforts in the future. Prestwich, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, sent about 1,000 letters to LDS teens last month touting the benefits that the school and community offer students of that faith. The letters were written on school letterhead and were accompanied by a letter on church letterhead from Fred Hopkin, president of the Mormon church’s Cody Wyoming Stake. Some students and faculty members were angered by the mailing, saying it inappropriately blurred the separation of church and state. In his e-mail, Prestwich said previous college administrations sent out similar mailings to LDS students. “Although none of our earlier mailings to LDS students received much attention, this time the effort has been the subject of criticism. To be blunt, we hit a nerve! I apologize for that,” Prestwich wrote. He also said benefactors had volunteered to reimburse the college for the mailing, which a college spokeswoman said cost about $630. Prestwich’s announcement followed a meeting of college employees during which many expressed concern about the recruitment letter. Rob Koelling, chairman of the Humanities Division, said the college’s mission can sometimes be skewed by pressures to remain economically viable and increase enrollment. The controversy had proved to be big distraction, he said. “An underlying concern is the possibility of the character of this institution changing,” Koelling told Prestwich during the meeting. Hopkin, president of the Cody LDS Stake, said the college contacted him in 2002 and this year to participate in recruitment mailings. As a supporter of Northwest College, he was happy to help. He said he was surprised by the heated debate generated by the letter. “I can see the premise for the concern, but if you really analyze it, I don’t see it as a conflict,” Hopkin said. “The college should use available resources to reach its ends.” Comments: editor@ccweek.com Survey Ranks NYCC Ninth Nationally in Fundraising Colleges Hike Room and Board While Holding Tuition Steady SHERIDAN, Wyo. (AP) — A recent study ranks the Northern Wyoming Community College District ninth nationally in money raised by community and technical colleges. According to the study by the Council for Aid to Education, the Wyoming district and its supporting foundations reported raising nearly $4.3 million in private contributions in fiscal year 2009. The district’s supporting foundations are the Sheridan College Foundation and the Gillette College Foundation. That placed the district ninth among all associate degree-granting colleges reporting to the Voluntary Support for Education survey. The survey looked at 167 colleges granting associate degrees. CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Four Wyoming community colleges have increased room and board rates for 2010-11. Students living on campus at Casper College will see about a 20 percent increase. The increase at Northwest College is 9 percent, at Eastern Wyoming College 3.8 percent, and at Central Wyoming College 10 percent. Laramie County and Western Wyoming community colleges, and the Northern Wyoming Community College District, have not yet set rates. The Wyoming Community College Commission had considered raising tuition but Gov. Dave Freudenthal promised federal stimulus funds for the state’s colleges as long as they didn’t increase tuition or fees for one year. Early Registration Deadline: May 3, 2010 GROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE The annual Learning College Summit is a working retreat for community college teams or individuals to connect with colleagues, share experiences, discuss issues, and explore strategies for focusing the entire college on improving and expanding student learning. Phoenix, Arizona • June 6-9 Arizona Biltmore Resort TOPIC AREAS • Organizational Culture • Quality, Inquiry, and Accountability • Learning Outcomes and Assessment • Student Engagement • Learning Environments www.league.org/ls2010
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