Stephon was born and raised in Queens, NY, and is a true New Yorker at heart. Growing up, he was his grandma’s taste tester in the kitchen. “She was a master chef and master gardener. She always made sure we had a balanced diet.” Fast forward and Stephon had some bumps in the road and spent 2 ½ years in federal prison. When he was released almost 2 years ago, he chose to be paroled in Charlotte, NC because that’s where his family was. “Charlotte has a lot of opportunity. There are the high-end steak houses, the mom-and-pop food trucks, and a lot of opportunity in the middle.” Stephon says that he is choosing to pursue a career in the hospitality industry because it is more background friendly than other industries. He is eager to continue building and expanding on his knowledge and taking advantage of every opportunity that comes his way. After graduation, Stephon is looking forward to becoming ServSafe® certified and having a small food cart (think of a hot dog stand on the corners of NYC) that he hopes will be a steppingstone in his career. What he most enjoys about class every day is that he gets to learn the foundations of cooking and the terminology that comes with it. “Cooking is therapeutic to me. It’s all about balance and being receptive.”