Paulette Amado, a student in the May 2007 Culinary Certificate Program, received the May Kit Scholarship from the Alumni Association, which was announced at the Third Annual Alumni Cookout in June. Awarded by the Alumni Board of Directors, the scholarship covers the cost of a student's equipment kit, which contains knives, uniform, apron, measuring spoons/cups, pastry bag/tips, thermometers, and other culinary essentials.

Paulette has dreamed of working in the culinary arts since she was a young girl in her home country of Guatemala. "I spent lots of time in my mother's kitchen learning and preparing her recipes," said Paulette. "I remember having my own little kitchen play set and my mom giving me little pieces of food to pretend I was cooking."

The Amado family moved to the United States when Paulette was 12. She began working when she was 13 to help support her family. During high school, she entered the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) at the Anthony Spinazzola Foundation. She received the C-CAP scholarship, which covers the cost of tuition at CSCA toward the Professional Chef's Program, into which she will transfer at the conclusion of the certificate program in August. She currently works two part-time jobs to help contribute to her family's expenses and to pay education costs not covered by the C-CAP funds.

"As a motivated young woman working to reach her goals," said Toni Elka, program director of the Culinary Apprentice Program at the Spinazzola Foundation, "I've been impressed with Paulette's sweetness, her intelligence, and her resolve to succeed in the face of significant financial obstacles. She deserves the kit scholarship."

To help offset the expenses of a culinary education, the CSCA Alumni Association established the Kit Campaign Scholarship fund in 2005. The Board of Directors contacted graduates of the School with the mission to raise funds to award small scholarships to cover the cost of the equipment kits, a necessary component to the culinary education. Since the inception of the campaign, 13 students have received the scholarship.

To be considered for the Kit Scholarship, the Admission’s Review Committee recommends incoming students who meet the scholarship criteria to the Alumni Board’s Scholarship Committee. The Committee in turn chooses the recipients after reviewing the applicant’s personal statement and letters of reference. The Kit Campaign Scholarship deadline for September 2007 admissions is August  15, 2007.

Contributions to the Alumni Association for the Kit Campaign Scholarship are accepted throughout the year. To donate to the Kit Campaign, please contact Christine Savastano Manzi at alumni@cambridgeculinary.com.

Paulette Amado