What It Means To Be Part Of A Community

Here at the Academy of Culinary Nutrition, in our first year of the online Culinary Nutrition Expert Program in 2013, our students immediately felt this sense of community and cultivated it. This strong community continued over the years as nearly 2,500 students in over 70 countries have passed through our virtual doors and been transformed by the experience of our program.

I didn’t set out to build a community that would change the world.

My goal was simply to bring people together who had shared interests, a passion for healthy living, the best food ever, and the desire to share this knowledge with those around them. But then it happened. We came together and a community formed of brilliant women and men from around the globe with this shared passion and desire to inspire each other and those that seek our guidance.

By coming together, we’ve succeeded in doing something beyond anything I could have imagined and certainly beyond what we, as a school, or me, as one single educator, could have anticipated.

The Culinary Nutrition Expert Community has become a force. We are a global community.

Culinary Nutrition Experts are a force of change and positivity. We’re reaching every corner of our respective communities and that in turn is influencing the world.

One of our first-year grads and senior program coach Melanie Connolly posted this to our Facebook Group:

And we have members of our community sharing their own business successes.

Here is some of what’s been shared.

This is just a small handful of what our graduates have accomplished. For more details about what Culinary Nutrition Experts are up to, check out:

Our graduates are kicking off businesses…

…even when the economy is tough.

They’re launching podcasts…

Inspiring the next generation through creative camps…

And workshops – both in person and online!

And they love taking one another’s classes, too!

Graduates like to share their culinary skills to give back to those who need it.

Our graduates run into each other in unexpected places…

And also intentionally plan to meet up!

We have graduates rocking the media…

Being inspired to chase their dreams…

And making lifelong friendships.

And sometimes, they even brag on my behalf…

Now, all of this obviously could not be planned, manufactured or forced.

As a school, we want people to join us every year who get it.

Members of our student body are not here just for a certificate, but for an education and a life experience.

I want students who are inspired and inspiring. They want to make a difference and be the difference. I am grateful for both what they put into their time with us in the program, and what they take away from it and bring to the world.

Our community continues to grow and be nourished, enhanced and evolve every September when we swing open our doors and welcome in our newest students. As we approach the fall kick-off of the Culinary Nutrition Expert Program, I am getting more and more excited to get to know the bright lights that will be joining us.

I have never been much of a joiner. I always felt a little on the fringe and never quite fit in with any one crowd – until now. What makes all of us unique is truly what has brought all of us together. I am proud to be part of the Culinary Nutrition Expert Community.