Credit: Courtesy of: Tristen Chow

Senior Tristen Chow committed to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) after learning to cook when she was seven. Chow had to make the tough decision of choosing between the CIA or her dream school: California Polytechnic State University.

An acceptance to your dream school might seem like an easy ‘yes’ for some, but for senior Tristen Chow, it was just another factor in the already complex college application process. Chow describes college decisions as one of the hardest choices she has had to make.

According to WHS guidance counselor Christina Calderon, 88% of last year’s 2024 graduating class applied to both private and public four-year programs. For Chow, these colleges were not her only option. Like the majority of students at WHS, Chow applied to four-year public and private colleges, but along with that, she also applied to a more non-traditional school: the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

Eventually, Chow received notice that she had gotten into California Polytechnic State University, which she described as her dream school, along with CIA. Chow knew her decision would outline her steps after college, along with, potentially, the rest of her life. She was deciding between going to a four-year college where she would major in food science and applied food studies or the CIA.

“It was really tough,” Chow said. “I was deciding between my dream school and dream career kind of thing.”

Calderon states that there are countless seniors facing similar situations in college decisions. She feels that weighing the pros and cons of each opportunity available is a strong strategy that the guidance department uses when helping students.

“I think it really depends on that student and what they’re envisioning for their life and their next steps,” Calderon said.

In the end, Chow decided the CIA was where she belonged during the next couple years of her life. Founded in 1946, the CIA was the first and only of its kind at the time. At first, the institute was specifically for training World War II veterans in culinary arts. The now 170 acre New York campus has been home to over 50,000 alumni. The CIA offers degrees from food business to baking to pastry arts. Chow decided that applied food studies was the major for her.

“[Applied food studies] was the most hands-on out of all the majors,” Chow said. “It works on sustainable food systems and actually going out and interacting with agriculture.”

The CIA offers hands-on work in real restaurant kitchens open to the public. While attending the institute, Chow will be going for a bachelor’s degree. This means that she will be studying for a degree alongside attending fundamental cooking classes. Part of that time will be working shifts in the CIA’s restaurants.

“I would say I will probably be in the kitchen for six to eight hours [a day],” Chow said.

Constantly being surrounded by meals made her interest in cooking spark. Chow believes her love for it originated from her family and household.

“It’s a big part of my family,” Chow said. “I feel like I’ve been [cooking] for as long as I remember.”

She remembers starting to cook for her family at the age of seven. WHS culinary teacher Scott Parseghian said that unlike Chow, there are many students who don’t know how to prepare a meal. According to the Kitchen Confidence Survey, 96% of parents in the U.S. believe in the significance of their children knowing how to cook or bake, yet only 33% of them cook with their children weekly. Additionally, 64% of U.S. parents do not have a high level of confidence in their children’s ability to follow a recipe.

“It is something important for everybody to learn how to do,” Parseghian said. “I think it’s a valuable skill, especially when you go off to college.”

Chow said there are a lot of good cooks in her family who have helped her in her decision to pursue culinary studies, and her uncle played a big role in her final decision.

“When talking to my uncle and my family, I could tell that they knew what the right path for me was,” Chow said.

Along with Chow, other WHS students’ families have played major roles in students’ college decisions. Calderon thinks that every family has different methods when trying to help their child decide where to take their next steps.

“It’s a lot of different dynamics making that decision, but we make sure that everyone’s voices get heard,” Calderon said. “At the end of the day we really want the senior to do the thing they want to do.”

Even though Chow said that deciding to go to the CIA was one of the hardest decisions for her, she knows this is the right path for her.

“I thought, ‘well if I’m gonna do anything and be really successful and love my future, I feel like I should make my dream career come true,’” Chow said.