Jordan Plowman
Multimedia Editor
Finishing her junior and senior years in high school all the while starting higher education, sophomore culinary arts major Hannah Peacock stepped up the challenge at the young age of 15 years old. Peacock pushed herself with the love and help of her parents and mentors to push out into the culinary world.
Peacock will graduate this fall semester with her culinary arts (AAS) degree and restaurant manager (AAS) in the 2021 fall semester.
“I decided to fast track my culinary arts degree because I knew that this industry would require a lot of experience and education to excel, so I wanted to get ahead of it and start as early as I could,” Peacock said. “I was homeschooled my entire life, which made for flexible school hours and parents who were constantly there supporting me and pushing me to keep going. Being homeschooled really helped because it allowed me to go at my own pace and be able to graduate early and focus on the curriculum that would be best to reach my goals.”
Peacock’s dream started with a mother’s love of cooking. She would watch with wonder as a child at her mother until she could cook alongside her. Even though she entered the college world at a young age, Peacock found she could strive along her older classmates too.
“Friendly and helpful to her classmates,” Chadwick M. Isom, an adjunct of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math). “Right in the middle of all activities…[Peacock] arrives early, willing to stay late and always has a can-do attitude. The type of person I would want on my team.”
Peacock steps up to the plate every time a challenge arises and pushes through as easy as pie. She handled her heavy workload of two part-time jobs, high school and college all the while keeping up a life with friends and family.
“One of the biggest challenges was trying to prove myself with having only minimal outside restaurant experience ( I wasn’t able to get a job until I was 16), and to take my place in the kitchen without being under looked because of my age,” Peacock said. “I learned how to adapt, I actively sought out how to learn, I practiced and I spoke up. As an introverted homeschooler I learned it is sometimes difficult to be in this industry, not just because of customer service, but because this industry is heavily weighted on teamwork and you must be a good team member. So, one of the hardest things I have come across, was stepping over my line of comfortable to find a place that I needed to be, (i.e. a team member/leader).”
Peacock hopes after all of her hard work pays off she will be able to open her own business “that not only provides special menu items and drinks to the community, but also allows a way to serve other communities as well by using clean, sustainable ingredients and products.”
