Master of Arts, Intercultural Studies, 2010, Columbia International University
Admissions Counselor, Columbia International University
Columbia, SC
Cooking is one of my many passions. My grandmother taught me how to cook at a very young age and I have loved it ever since. I cooked our family meals and happily became the holiday chef at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
When I graduated from Auburn University in 2007 with two business majors, my dream was to attend culinary school and become a master chef and open my own Italian gourmet restaurant. Everything was going according to plan until my senior year when God changed everything. He showed me that my culinary plans were for my own glory and not for His.
He led me away from that Italian gourmet restaurant and into cross-cultural ministry.
On my first trip to Africa in 2007, I discovered God's passion for orphans with HIV AIDS. I served in clinic support groups and cared for children affected by, or who lost parents to, HIV AIDS. God also led me to serve in China, Ethiopia, and Mexico.
Wanting to be better prepared to serve God, I visited Columbia International University. I heard it was filled with students who shared the same passions as me, but I wanted to see for myself. One visit was all it took. I've now graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Intercultural Studies. CIU taught me that my life is not my own, it is God's and I want to serve Him no matter the cost.
My new dream is to one day build an orphanage for children with HIV AIDS.