Four-thirty in the morning. That’s when my eyes flutter open and my ears hear the piercing alarm going off. Although it’s early, I can’t help but feel excited for what the day is about to bring! Every day, from Monday to Thursday, I start my day at 4:30am and get ready for a productive day in my sophomore labs.

For the first 16 years of his life, Chris Bledsoe was attached to a battery-operated pump that fed him nutrients intravenously to keep him alive. When he tried to eat solid foods, acid reflux would kick in. Chris has been living with mitochondrial disease, a rare genetic disorder where the process for extracting energy from foods is disrupted (among other symptoms). From birth, doctors told his parents that his longterm prognosis was poor. But Chris proved everyone wrong.

You never know when the next great opportunity in your life might be just around the corner.

Culinary Arts and Food & Beverage Entrepreneurship double major Noah Rosen ’19 calls himself a “total knife nerd” who honed his culinary fundamentals at Orange County School for the Arts, where he attended high school. Now at JWU, he has put himself on a fast track to complete his dual degree and move on to his MBA. (If culinary arts are his primary passion, entrepreneurship runs a close second.)

Is truly sustainable seafood possible? How can we maintain the ocean’s ecological balance while still enjoying its bounty? What role can technology play in increasing the safety and traceability of our seafood supply?

These questions and more were debated by chefs, restaurateurs, researchers and entrepreneurs at the Jacques Pépin Foundation’s inaugural Seafood Symposium, which was hosted at JWU Providence’s College of Culinary Arts with the support of the Chefs Collaborative and Save the Bay.

As Gabby James '20 was plating up a dish during during the June 19 edition of Soul Food Sessions, Charlotte’s African-American chef series, she wished her grandmother could have been there: To her, the event was “like another stepping stone for us. That was our freedom for us to show our true talents in cooking and in leadership and it shows we’re stronger together than we are apart.”