Danielle

Deep down, Danielle always knew she wanted to be a chef, but wasn’t confident she could turn her passion for cooking into a career.

After high school, she attended Howard Community College (HCC), where she obtained an associate degree in general studies before heading to the University of Maryland University College (­UMUC) to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business.

Danielle enjoyed her time at UMUC, but something didn’t feel right.

“I decided to pursue a degree in baking and pastries,” she said after returning to HCC and enrolling in the culinary program. “My passion is cooking and creating so I decided to stick with it. It’s opened up so many opportunities for me in the culinary world.”

Danielle is currently studying baking and pastries and expects to graduate in the summer of 2019. When asked about her favorite class, she said she couldn’t pick just one.

“I have a few favorites I can’t choose between,” she said. “Plated Desserts because it was a creative class, International Breads because who doesn’t love fresh baked bread, and À La Carte because it’s fast paced and gives you real life experience cooking in real time for real guests.”

While attending HCC, Danielle began working at an ice cream company making and decorating ice-cream cakes, and will soon start an internship at a different ice cream company where everything is made from scratch.

“The goal is to gain as much experience as possible to eventually one day open my own pastry and dessert shop,” she said.