My name is Angel Fahrney and I am majoring in Hospitality and Event Management (HEM) with concentrations in Food & Beverage Management and Hotel & Resort Management. I plan to graduate in May of 2025 with Honors.
I chose Kent State due to my interest in the culinary arts and for my interest in management. Ever since I was a freshman in high school, I wanted to make a career out of baking. However, I wanted to work on my cooking skills while also socializing with others that share the same passion.
That’s how I knew I needed to join a cooking club on campus.
At the beginning of my first semester, I attended Blastoff on campus. Blastoff is where most of the campus clubs set up tables to recruit new members. I stopped by the Chefology table and joined immediately after attending. Chefology became a big part of my life after that.
During my time in Chefology, I had learned a lot about the club and its purpose. Most students are worried that they are not skilled enough to join the club. However, the club is not intimidating what so ever. There is no need of much culinary experience since the club is learning about making foods that can be accessible to college students.
We accept all majors to our club, and I know students who are in nutrition, theater, fashion and even psychology.
This is a very social club because we often cooking in groups of 3-5 members per group. In the beginning, I did not bond with many regular members. However, I became acquainted with the board members. The board members were always informative and hospitable. The board members were the very reason that I took a board position as program administrator my sophomore year.
As program administrator, I calculate how much food needs to be ordered, calculate how many portions need made, order the food and occasionally post on our Kent State Chefology Instagram.
When the club meets for cooking demos, we use the kitchen in the 2nd floor DI Hub (which is where the cooking classes take place as well). The kitchen is furnished with industrial counters, ovens, fridges and cooking utensils. The pantry and dish area that are connected to the kitchen are stocked up with ingredients, seasonings and other cooking utilities.
I enjoy helping others around the kitchen, and helping them can lead to conversation so I can get to know them better.
The DI Hub kitchen also was the location of our cooking competition “All Taste, No Waste," which was one of the most memorable experiences in my college career thus far. I have spent so much time in this kitchen that it is becoming a second home!
The DI Hub kitchen has allowed me to work on my professional cooking skills as well as my skills with adaptability. My problem solving skills are also always tested when dealing with food ordering for demos. Although I always have help from my professors, they have taught me how to handle culinary situations in the real world and help me make my own decisions.
I believe that the HEM program and Chefology have helped me flourish as both a culinary student and a passionate individual.
For those who are interested in coming to Kent State University, I want you to know this:
It is best to try a little bit of everything in order to figure out what your passions are. Once you find that passion, work hard and go far with it. However, know your limitations. If you take on too many extracurriculars, your passion may slowly turn to resentment due to being burnt out. These kinds of experiences are meant to be for positive growth.