A Delicious Future for Falena

“This program really just pushed me to be the best me possible, and if it wasn't for my Katrina [NWEdA Program Manager], I probably wouldn't have finished school.”

Falena recently graduated from South Seattle Community College after completing a two year culinary arts program: “I went there thinking I was just going to go in for my one-year certificate, but something just told me to keep going. Right after I graduated, I joined a Ventures business program, which is going to help me with starting my catering business and becoming a chef instructor.”

Falena is no stranger to Northwest Education Access. She first connected with NWEdA in her early twenties, and her Education Advocate helped her go to school for fashion merchandising, which became her career for several years.  When the pandemic hit and everything went online, Falena realized she wanted a more hands-on career. This is when she got connected with Education Advocate (now Program Manager) Katrina. 

For Falena, Katrina was a great hands-on support, helping her to secure funding, connect with tutors, build a resume, apply for jobs—really any support Falena needed to succeed. She shared, “If I was struggling with my classes, Katrina helped me learn how to navigate and talk to my professors to figure out how I can be successful. I knew what I wanted to do, so I set goals for myself and then we did check-ins to make sure I was reaching those goals.”

At one point, Falena found herself struggling in the classroom, and even thought about dropping out. She shared, "I was letting my emotions and my personal life pour into my education.” With Katrina’s support, Falena gained the confidence she needed to talk to her professors about staying in the program. She shared, “I just did a 360. I just learned to control my emotions, because I'm really passionate about cooking, and I just learned to keep pushing forward.”

And it paid off: Falena told us, “I ended up being the top of my class, holding the highest grade. I was on honor roll for two years straight on the dean's list, so I just had to keep going.”

Currently working at a child care center, Falena has had the opportunity to teach kids there how to cook. She told us, "They want me to start an enrichment class where I teach families how to cook with their children, and I also have the opportunity to teach young adults how to cook in the summertime, so I'm looking forward to starting that program.”

Falena has many exciting goals for the future, which include starting her own catering business. She shared, “I also work with the homeless, so I want to continue as a chef to feed the community and give back to the people in the greater Seattle area. I also want to be a chef instructor, where I teach kids how to cook, because I learned how to cook when I was a little girl.”