By Danielle Cepeda, Tutor CLE Davie

This month’s Career Student Spotlight goes to Jeff H. Jeff is a recent graduate of the McFatter Technical School of Culinary Arts. Having graduated only 7 months ago, Jeff has already accomplished a great many things. Since graduation, Jeff has gone on two interviews (and got two job offers), worked at two different job posts, and attended weekly career meetings at CLE. He has worked in four different positions so far: Prep Cook, Line Cook, Busboy and Dish Washer. An aspiring Executive Chef, Jeff has been working on creating his own menu of mastered recipes, including Fettuccine Alfredo, Shrimp Pasta, and Steamed Lobster, to name a few of his favorites.

As with most of us, Jeff’s recent successes did not come without their challenges. Jeff’s first job out of college was Prep Cook at a local fast-food restaurant. Part of his responsibility as a Prep Cook was to carve large amounts of steak at the end of each day so that it could be stored for later use. Jeff found this aspect of his job to be overwhelming, as the portions were quite large and there never seemed to be enough time to finish. Because he was too shy to speak up about this challenge to his manager, he instead got into the habit of discarding whatever meat was remaining at the end of each shift. Needless to say, Jeff was let go after his actions were discovered by the management.

Let’s face it – getting fired is never fun and it could feel like a major setback from our goals. My favorite American poet, Langston Hughes, once said, “I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.”

Perseverance is key in accomplishing any goal.

Did you know that Walt Disney was turned down by over 300 banks before he finally convinced someone to take a chance and finance his dream? What if he had given up after even the 200th rejection? And look at what he accomplished by exhibiting a firm and passionate commitment to making his dream a reality! Everything that happens in our lives—good and bad—can be seen as learning experiences that give us the insights and tools needed to move closer to our goals.

From this experience, Jeff learned two very important lessons. For one, he has learned to find his voice when faced with a difficult task. He now has no issue with speaking up in a respectful way when things get hard in the kitchen. Another important lesson he learned was to be honest and tell the truth. We all make mistakes, but it’s very hard to rebuild trust once it’s been broken.

Jeff and I had a conversation about what integrity means and why it’s important at work and life. Integrity is all about living up to your word, doing what you say you will do and owning up to it when you don’t.

According to Jeff

“Integrity is important at work because if managers can rely on you for smaller tasks at first, then maybe they can trust you with bigger responsibilities later; and possibly even move you into a higher position in the future.” If you have high integrity, then you are someone who can be relied upon and trusted. Jeff went on to say that integrity is important in life “because if you stay true to your word, people will trust you to help them with their problems and you will become closer as friends.” What a huge lesson to have learned at such a young age!

Integrity and perseverance can go a long way in life. Practicing integrity regularly can help you build trust, advance in your career, and foster stronger relationships with friends, family and significant others. Having perseverance to stay the course when things get hard will help you accomplish almost any goal or dream you envision for your future. Luckily, Jeff was able to secure his current job soon after his first one ended. I know that Jeff is on the right path and he now has many of the tools he’ll need to make his dream of becoming an Executive Chef a reality. Bravo to Jeff on all of his recent successes and lessons learned!