“Sometimes, things can just happen, and it can change your life.” On May 8, 2024, Amy was released from prison after 24 years and 9 months behind bars. Six days later, she started class at CCSC. She found out about the School through the non-profit organization Changed Choices, which assists women who are incarcerated or recently released. “I was 24 when I went to prison. I lived very dangerously and got mixed up with the wrong people. Sometimes, things can just happen, and it can change your life.” Amy says that before prison, she had no drive or determination to accomplish anything in life. Now, she wants a career, to make something of herself, and to center her life around food. “I’ve learned that no matter what happens in the world, people will always need to eat!” While in prison, she was able to take courses on culinary topics, though those courses were only bookwork. “The things I was learning in books, I only got to see in my head and on TV; now I can actually do them.” Amy says that food is conversational and brings people together, which is why she feels so pulled to it. Amy says that her time so far in Class 77 has allowed her to learn from the chef instructors while feeling comfortable and in a judgement-free environment, which is important to her. “I feel like I can talk to anyone about anything here, and I love that.” After graduation, Amy is looking forward to getting a culinary job where she gets to be “behind the scenes making what people love.”