This is a guest post by Scott Wilsom, aka Syren Vaughn. We met through twitter and at www.culinaryschooladviser.com, it’s the belief that everyone’s story is valid and that we can learn from everyone’s story. Here is Scott’s.

When I look back at my life, school at 40 never was where I would have seen myself.  With a career in Event Planning, I was content with the direction my life was headed.  But as fate would have it, life never is stagnant, and change is always bound to happen.

I had always thought about a career in the Culinary Arts.  From my time in the kitchen with my parents, to helping my father cater an event; food was in my blood.  I just never realized how much in my blood it was.

In August of 2010 I was separated from my employment and was now faced with the fear of “now what?” That fear became overwhelming.  However, I saw this as a chance to do something completely different with my life.  In a matter of a couple weeks from leaving my career, fate stepped in and threw the world of the culinary arts in my path over and over again. I took the hint and started looking at my choices.  I never realized how much there was to look at; from financial aid to the type of culinary arts programs or even what school and what city would I want to study in.  So many choices, but the horizon of possibilities was endless.  I had always thought my former career as an endless road of possibilities; I was wrong.  With new sites ahead of me, I could see clearly how such a small change of direction would influence my life so greatly and it was enticing to think of the infinite possibilities a head.

I looked into a couple of different schools and programs and after meeting with Le cordon Bleu, I knew I had found my home! I started the Culinary Arts Certificate program on November 8, 2010.  Fear, excitement, anxiety, I was feeling everything all at once.  What had I gotten myself into?  Sitting in orientation, I thought to myself over and over again, ‘yes you love to cook, but this much? I knew this was the right choice and knew that even though I was a cluster of emotions, this was where I needed to be.

As I have gone through Foundations 1 and Food Safety/Sanitations, the program is nothing that I thought it would be, yet everything I hoped it would be.  I never realized the detail of cooking, from keeping food safe for consumers to the acute detail of using all of your senses.  I have learned so much from the program already and I know I have so much more to come.

After entering into the second round of classes, Foundations 2, fear and nerves that I felt at the beginning have subsided.  Yet the excitement and hunger for knowledge have increased by leaps and bounds.  The journey through the culinary world has been an adventure, one that I would hope everyone could experience.  As for me, it is one I will never regret.

Scott Wilson is a culinary student at the Le Cordon Bleu program in Las Vegas where he resides. He is also a drag performer in Las Vegas and you can follow him on twitter @SyrenVaughn

Tags: Career Change, Culinary School, Le Cordon Bleu Las Vegas, Scott Wilson, Syren Vaugh
Posted in Your Story