MUW welcomes prospective culinary students to campus
COLUMBUS, Miss. – Mississippi University for Women opened its doors to budding chefs on Tuesday.
The W hosted a Discovery Day for high school students interested in Culinary Arts.
“We have invited students from Mississippi and Alabama to come and talk with admissions, student life and to get a tour of the facilities and see what they can cook if they decide to join us and speak with some students,” said Dr. Tracee Watkins, the Culinary Arts Institute Director at MUW.
Junior and senior culinary students led the tours.
Ethanial Nickey is a student at Choctaw Central High School in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
“I’ve seen much of the kitchen and seen much of the materials they use of their kitchen. And most of all, I’ve enjoyed the interactions with them, learning how it is to be a culinary student at the W,” said Nickey.
Nickey is in his second year of the Culinary Program at Choctaw Central.
He is already thinking about his career goals.
“I think I would like to start my own bakery,” said Nickey.
The W’s culinary students made snacks for the guests in advance.
They also shared their experiences in the program — hoping to whet the academic appetites of the prospective students.
“I think if I had this experience in high school, I would have definitely appreciated it a lot more. I felt really good about informing people about what goes on behind the scenes,” said Olivia Reeves, a Culinary Arts student at the W.
“I wanted to help them try to figure out what they wanted to do because if I had this experience in high school, I would’ve came here much sooner than I did,” said Precious Davis, a Culinary Arts student at the W.
The W said it has seen two school years of positive growth in the Culinary department.
Students say there’s plenty of room left in the field and a variety of options to choose from.
“A lot of jobs really need culinary right now and there are other sides to culinary. It’s not just cooking. You can have business, you can have nutrition, you can have pastries,” said Reeves.
“It’s more than you think. It’s not just one tight corner you’re stuck in. You can do anything you want in this profession,” said Davis.
Around 50 students visited campus for the Culinary Discovery Day.
The W will host its next Culinary Discovery Day in November.
