The Alumni Association's Board of Directors awarded Christen Bellody and Jonathan La Rosa the Spring 2008 Kit Campaign Scholarships. Christen is a student in the Professional Pastry Program and Jonathan is a student in the Professional Chef's Program. To date, 17 kit scholarships have been awarded to CSCA students thanks to the fundraising efforts on behalf of the Alumni Association and graduates of The CSCA. The Kit Campaign awards monies to pay for a student's equipment kit. 

Christen Bellody serves as a role model to us all. Overcoming extreme physical hardships throughout her teenage years, Christen says her past experiences helped to play a role in shaping the person she is today. She's proud to say that her "don't sweat the small stuff" attitude has helped her overcome enormous obstacles. Interested in visual arts and graphic design, Christen enrolled at Emerson College, where she began baking to relax. As a prepress assistant at Kendall Press, Christen longs to incorporate her visual artistry into dessert plating and presentation. As a student in the Professional Pastry Program, she plans to focus on the art of cake decorating, incorporating visual and graphic arts principles into pastry arts.

According to Toni Elka, program director of the Careers through Culinary Apprentice Program (C-CAP), Jonathan La Rosa is "blessed with a sensitive, collaborative disposition and a strong work ethic." Jonathan says he developed a love for food and cooking when he was a child learning to cook from his mother and great grandmother. His earliest memories are of the aroma of meatballs baking in the oven on Sunday mornings and of helping his great-grandmother cook. As a small boy, Jonathan had dreams of working and owning a 5-star restaurant. He enrolled in the culinary arts program at his high school as a junior and during his senior year he entered the C-Cap Competition. In addition to receiving CSCA's Kit scholarship, Jonathan is also the recipient of the C-Cap Scholarship. Jonathan currently works at Stop & Shop, of which he contributes to the family.

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 Scholarship Committee in turn chooses the recipients after reviewing the applicant’s personal statement and letters of reference.

The equipment kit includes standard tools essential to the student's culinary education: knives, measuring cups and spoons, piping bags and tips, uniforms, spatulas and scrapers, thermometers, whisks, and much more.

The Kit Campaign Scholarship deadline for May 2008 admissions is April 1, 2008.

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.

Christen Bellody

Jonathan La Rosa