By Kim Hilsenbeck.
Spooning homemade pasta Bolognese into dishes, Gwyn Wilkerson of Kyle then used a paper towel to wipe up the excess around the edge of the bowl. With cooking, it’s the little details that make a difference. Presentation makes an impression.
It’s a lesson she learned from her former teacher and mentor, Ryan Georgi, at Lehman High School. As a student at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Austin, Wilkerson said her teachers reaffirm that lesson daily.
This 2013 Lehman graduate didn’t wait for the legislature or the State Board of Education to change the graduation requirements for Texas students; she forged her own path to success and it wasn’t college.
Lehman High School graduate Gwyn Wilkerson is now a student at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Austin. Above, she spoons out her signature dish - pasta Bolgonese - that earned her a $10,000 scholarship to culinary school. (Photo by Kim Hilsenbeck) |
Instead, she applied to the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Austin. This 10-month program prepares future chefs in traditional French and international cuisine. Students learn pastry and wine pairings. They also work on farms.
We met up with Wilkerson and Georgi, at Lehman’s Backstreet Bistro. Georgi runs the culinary program for Hays CISD.
She cooked the dish, the Bolognese, along with homemade bread, that won her a $10,000 scholarship to the culinary school. Tuition for the program is more than $26,000. She also earned what she called a surprise from ProStart.
“It’s like the UIL of culinary. That’s how they do all the competitions and conferences,” she said.
Wilkerson said people at the culinary school talked to ProStart. The woman who runs that program watched her application video and offered her a $3,000 scholarship.
“I didn’t want to go to college,” Wilkerson said. “I didn’t like [high school]. Culinary [class] was the reason I came to school, to learn cooking.”
The mature-for-her-age Wilkerson claims she has always loved cooking.
“There are pictures of me as a baby sitting up on the counter watching my grandmother cook,” she said.
After years and years of watching the Food Network, she finally decided to move forward with her culinary career.
But first, she had to graduate high school. That’s where Georgi’s program set her on a path to work in the culinary industry.
“Georgi has been my mentor for almost four years now,” she said.
In addition to learning as much as she could from the class, Wilkerson also earned a $2,500 scholarship from Backstreet Bistro; raised from catering jobs
The pride Georgi has for his former student is obvious. He stressed that Wilkerson could have easily gone the college route and been successful.
“This little girl here is more than capable of going to college and being top 10 percent dean’s list. Her level of intelligence is higher than most of the kids who are going to a four-year college,” he said. “It has been a blessing to work with her.”
If her Bolognese was any indication of her future in the business, she’ll be a culinary rock star. But Wilkerson said her dream is to open a bakery.
“My dream after culinary school is to open up The Moon Beam Canning Company.”
Moon Beam is a nickname from an aunt.
Wilkerson explained her fascination.
“One of my mentors in culinary school now, Chef Pablo, taught me how to can – how the pickling process works,” she said. “Pickling, jams, jellies. One day I went home and bought myself some cans. I made pecan pie in a jar. Apple pie in a jar, peach cobbler in a jar. Spiced wine poached pears. And several pickles.”
Georgi invested in her future by buying her four cases of cans.
Wilkerson said she’s going to start at farmer’s markets selling her canned goods.
“My goal is to open up kind of a bakery café thing where I can make breads, croissants and muffins. And then I’m also going to have my canning stuff that you can pair with those breads.”
She also said she knows it will happen because she’s goal driven, almost to obsession.
“When I get on something, I’m on it. 24/7.”
Wilkerson credits Georgi along with her parents, whom she calls “very supportive,” for getting her to this point.
“[Georgi] doesn’t understand how much he’s taught me,” Wilkerson said.
He replied in kind.
“Watching her be successful is what being a teacher is all about,” Georgi said.
Other former students sometimes stay in the culinary industry, he said. But some go through a few years and realize it’s a tough business. They work weekends, holidays and summers and after a while, they go do something else.
Wilkerson, however, has a vision of her future.
“I’m prepared to put in the 28 hours a day, never sleeping. I want it to be great,” she said.
Changes looming in graduation requirements
Substantial changes to Texas’ high school graduation requirements would modify the current four by four (4x4) plan to a 22-credit Foundation High School Program.
Under House Bill 5 (HB5), passed by the Texas Legislature this spring, the new plan allows students to earn endorsements in specific areas of study by completing four additional credits. Those endorsement areas are science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), business and industry, public services, arts and humanities, and multidisciplinary studies.
At issue is whether to require Algebra II for graduation.
Following testimony from 67 witnesses, along with many letters and emails for and against requiring Algebra II, the State Board of Education voted in November to eliminate Algebra II as a specific requirement for all but the STEM endorsement.
The public comment period took place during December. The board is expected to have a final vote on the changes during its Jan. 29-31 meeting at the Travis State Office Building at 1701 N. Congress Ave. in Austin.
However, students who hope to be ranked in the top 10 percent of their graduating class and qualify for automatic admission into a Texas public university, must earn a distinguished level of achievement, according to the new law. The distinguished level of achievement requires students to take a total of four credits of math, including Algebra II, a total of four credits of science, and complete the requirements for at least one endorsement.
With many details about program yet to be decided, the new graduation plan will not be in effect for the 2013-2014 school year.
