West Windsor, N.J. – For Kathleen Collazo (A.A.S., Culinary Arts), cooking and baking are an act of love. An active member of her church and its outreach group, she sees food as a way to help people.

A single mother with a full-time job, Collazo attended Mercer County Community College (MCCC) at night. “I used to work different jobs, but it wasn’t a career. I put that on hold to raise my family. Currently I am an administrative assistant, but my passion is baking,” she says.

Since starting at Mercer three years ago, Collazo had to adjust to college life as a returning adult student, balancing work with raising her teenage son, and doing it all during the pandemic shutdown. Collazo also has two older children and four grandchildren.

According to Collazo, she made it work by focusing on her priorities. “I would look at my schedule and figure out what was more important – going to the gym, cooking dinner, or getting my assignments done.” Collazo credits her Baking instructor, Chef Laura Colletti, with motivating her to excel. “She believed in me. She made me know that I could do this.”

Her perseverance has paid off: She graduates with high honors.

Collazo says her dedication has been a good example for her children. She recalls one semester when she took four classes online. “I was logging on four nights a week. One night, my son woke up at 2 a.m. and saw me working. He wanted to know what I was still doing up. I have shown him that it’s not always easy, but if you work hard and persevere, you can make it happen. There’s time to sleep later on.”

Throughout the campus shutdown, Collazo was able to take her prerequisites online: courses in business, mathematics, and food and culture. When MCCC reopened for in-person classes in Fall 2021, she was more than ready to dive into her culinary courses. While some activities were scaled back – students cooked for each other and a few staff members instead of hosting the student restaurant – she relished her time in the kitchen. “I would go home tired, but really sure that I wanted to pursue baking as a career,” she says.

Collazo notes that cooking together created a real bond among students. “My classmates welcomed me.  I was the ‘class mom.’  We became more of a family; we started looking out for each other. If I could do over again, I would. That’s how much I enjoyed it,” she said.

One day soon, Collazo hopes to open her own café. She is confident that her kitchen skills and business knowledge, mixed with just the right measure of love, will serve to nourish both her and her future customers.

 

Commencement 2022

Return to Current News

MCCC Home Page

 

 

Culinary Arts graduate Kathleen Collazo