Takisha stays focused on her dream to be a chef and to cook internationally, despite the loss she has experienced in her life. Growing up in a small town in South Carolina, Takisha would stand on a stool next to her mom to help her with dinner and bake cakes in her Easy Bake Oven. She moved to Charlotte to raise her four children. She and her brother Tarvis planned to enroll in culinary school together so they could open a catering company. But tragedy struck when Tarvis, her son Shamareon, and her father all died within a year of each other. Now she is raising two grandchildren and says they and her other three children motivated her and encouraged her to enroll in CCSC this year. Takisha loves the culinary instruction at CCSC, as well as the other help she’s received, including vouchers from DSS to pay for childcare while she is in class. Takisha says, “Whatever you need, they will help you with.” She enjoys taking the recipes she learns at school home to her family, like the Mexican street corn she made for her children. Takisha is already catering meals and events for friends; she calls her company Shorty Mac & Mauri, after her pet names for her brother and son.