Hospitality Alumni Spotlight

INDIANAPOLIS

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION 2011 recipient of the Edmond Gass Award for Outstanding Service in Culinary Arts

INDIANAPOLIS

Ivy Tech's program was built for the industry, and the teachers were from the industry. We learned to adapt to what is coming and what is happening in the world that influenced our industry.”

DANIEL MESSMER, 1992 R&D Chef / Senior Scientist Kerry

Concentration:

Culinary Arts, Dietary Management, Hotel & Restaurant Management

Favorite Class:

Catering Administration—Gained experience as main caterer for Governor Evan Bayh and his wife.

First role post-graduation:

Catering Chef, Marsh Supermarkets

Advice to students:

Stay focused and take every opportunity you feel is right for you.

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION 2013 recipient of the Edmond Gass Award for Outstanding Service in Culinary Arts

INDIANAPOLIS

“I loved how the chef instructors were not just full time teachers but also chefs out in the field. They each had practical hands on knowledge with all the success and failures that come along with it.”

BRIAN PLEASANT, 1999 Corporate Chef Crystal Catering

Concentration:

Culinary Arts & Baking Specialty

Favorite Class:

Soups, Stocks, and Sauces—To me, sauces are what tie everything together. They can enhance your hard work or they can cover your mistakes. A good sauce can be eaten alone as its own dish.

First role post-graduation:

Sous Chef, Embassy Suites North Hotel

Advice to students:

Realize this is the building block of your career. What you take from here will mold you into the chef you will become.

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION 2005 recipient of the Edmond Gass Award for Outstanding Service in Culinary Arts

INDIANAPOLIS

Ivy Tech’s Hospitality program’s combination of a carefully mapped curriculum, expert instructors, and the interactive culinary trip to France prepared me for the day-to-day challenges of being a chef, as well as challenging myself to creatively grow and push myself.

JOE MILLER, 2000 Chef & Owner Our Table

Concentration:

Culinary Arts

Favorite Class:

Basic Foods—This course gave me a job expectation sampling, ignited my passion to enter the culinary industry, and confirmed my desire to become a chef.

First role post-graduation:

Line Cook

Advice to students:

Take time to ask your instructors the next question, learn from their experiences, and value them as a resource.

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION

INDIANAPOLIS

"I can go into any establishment and make an entry level dessert and more. In every aspect, I can run the front or the back of the bakery from accounting, menu design and layout, to reading and converting a standard formula."

LeCRETIA ALLEN, 2008 Owner / Adjunct Instructor Cretia Cakes Bake Shop / Ivy Tech

Concentration:

Baking and Pastry Arts

Favorite Class:

Intro to Baking—This it laid the foundation for me to produce the basic formulas. It helped prepare me to develop and build on to more challenging pastries.

First role post-graduation:

Pastry Chef

Advice to students:

Do not be afraid to fail the first couple of times, learn from it, and do it better. A person that asks...wants to gain knowledge.

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION 2011 recipient of the Edmond Gass Award for Outstanding Service in Culinary Arts

INDIANAPOLIS

"The network I developed with fellow students and faculty still continues to help me in the food industry to this day."

JON HICKS, 2008 Indiana Market Manager Rizwitsch Sales / Foodservice Broker

Concentration:

Culinary Arts

Favorite Class:

Classical Cuisine, April in Paris was one of the highlights of the Culinary program for me.

First role post-graduation:

Executive Chef - Purgatory Golf Club

Advice to students:

Network as much as possible and when you feel stagnant in a job position, don't be afraid to change.

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION 2021 recipient of the Edmond Gass Award for Outstanding Service in Culinary Arts

INDIANAPOLIS

“Best Hospitality Program in the State! I remember when I first started, the Chefs Academy and Art Institute was all you heard about. Ivy Tech was there before them and weathered the storm. When looking for people to interview, I look right over the Chefs Academy graduates and will go right to an Ivy Tech graduate. The staff that is at Ivy Tech are amazing and are still supporting me professionally and as a friend to this day.”

JASON CROUCH, 2009 Executive Chef Hotel Carmichael

Concentration:

Culinary Arts

Favorite Class:

Basic Food Theory & Skills

First role post-graduation:

Executive Chef, Indiana State Museum

Advice to students:

Slow down and ask more questions. Enroll in extra classes and volunteer more.

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION

INDIANAPOLIS

“I LOVED MY EXPERIENCE! I applied myself with every possible opportunity. The Ivy Tech Hospitality program prepared me for almost every possible scenario in this industry from purchasing, sanitation, safety, and culinary skills. I will always be grateful for my opportunity to study abroad with Chef England. My experience was, and still is, one of the highlights of my professional development. As an older student, making a major career change, I could not have made a better decision to enroll.”

DARCY SMINK, 2010 Chef Purdue University

Concentration:

Culinary Arts

Favorite Class:

International (Specialized) Cuisine

First role post-graduation:

Line/Grill Cook, Lafayette Country Club

Advice to students:

Take advantage of every opportunity! Study and apply yourself like you never have before! Have fun!

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION

INDIANAPOLIS

"I LOVE Ivy Tech, it will always be my home. I value my relationship with Chef Bricker and I always will. I have the best memories of class and projects as it relates to Event Management. I already knew how to design, however, I learned much of the back of the house and terminology from this program.”

CHESIA TORRENCE, 2010 President/Owner The Silver Centre & Silver Spoon Events

Concentration:

Event Management

Favorite Class:

Accounting—All hands on experiences; Involvement in Campus Activity Board and Student Government Association

First role post-graduation:

Business owner; opened a venue in 2012

Advice to students:

Sign up for all of the hands on optional projects, if possible take all classes for all concentrations. You don't know how all of those will work together for your position in hospitality.

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION 2016 recipient of the Edmond Gass Award for Outstanding Service in Culinary Arts

INDIANAPOLIS

"The hands on learning opportunities sets students up for success long after they graduate."

RICKY HATFIELD, 2011 Executive Chef/Lead Product Innovator Holic Foods

Concentration:

Culinary Arts

Favorite Class:

Customer Service—Acting as though it was a real restaurant, this course was where I felt most comfortable at. Running a kitchen line like a chef, making sure all guests were happy was what I was after as a student. I wish the course lasted longer.

First role post-graduation:

Sous Chef

Advice to students:

It’s going to be a long road. Be patient and seize all opportunities to learn new things.

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION

INDIANAPOLIS

“Ivy Tech teaches you very good foundations of cooking that can be built upon throughout your career. You will do things you're unfamiliar or uncomfortable doing at one point or another, however it will deem useful in whatever you decide to pursue in your career. “

JEREMY IACOCCA, 2014 Private Chef

Concentration:

Culinary Arts

Favorite Class:

Soups, Stocks, and Sauces and Meat Fabrication—Soups class teaches the groundwork of sauces from the very beginning. Meat Fabrication is one of the most important classes… Know your animal, know where it comes from and the structure of how the cuts work.

First role post-graduation:

Sous Chef, Late Harvest Kitchen

Advice to students:

Stay humble, don’t get an ego and always keep getting better; never be content with anything. Content is the killer of perfection.

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION

INDIANAPOLIS

“I absolutely love the Ivy Tech Hospitality program. I felt very prepared for the work force when I graduated. Ivy Tech helped me to connect with the right people, and get the experience I needed to succeed.”

KIMBERLY BELCHER, 2018 Director of Food Service (Executive Chef) Trilogy, Ashford Place Health Campus

Concentration:

Culinary Arts

Favorite Class:

Basic Food Theory & Skills

First role post-graduation:

Sous Chef

Advice to students:

Keep pressing on!! Be knowledgeable that the industry is a tough place, but you can do it!

HOSPITALITY ADMINISTRATION

INDIANAPOLIS

"It's a great opportunity to see and try all the different facets of the culinary world to find your passion."

CODY JEFFERSON, 2018 Production Manager Old Major Market

Concentration:

Culinary Arts

Favorite Class:

Meat Fabrication- I had always had a fascination with butchery and this class turned it into a passion. Being able to break down whole hogs and all the different fish was essential in gaining confidence moving forward in my career.

First role post-graduation:

Production Assistant

Advice to students:

Take advantage of all the opportunities the school has to offer, and meet as many people you can cause they can really help, even after graduation.

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IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE INDIANAPOLIS OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS 317.921.4737 | INDIANAPOLIS-ALUMNI@IVYTECH.EDU

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