Discover Our Students’ Experiences Through Their Own Words: Loren Wesley

“I started cooking at the age of 12 and ever since have known I wanted to be a chef. I completed an internship at the Hyatt Regency Dallas while in high school, received an associate degree in Culinary Arts from El Centro and then earned a bachelor’s degree in hotel restaurant management from the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel Restaurant Management at the University of Houston. I hope to become a food and beverage director for a major hotel chain and one day own my own restaurant.”

After graduating from Duncanville High School in 2005, Loren earned an associate degree in Culinary Arts from El Centro in the spring of 2008. Her first professional cooking job was at Hilton Garden Inn as a breakfast and banquet cook. After graduating from El Centro, she served as pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events in Dallas. Loren is currently the assistant banquet manager at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Houston.

A student with a red jacket poses for a photo in a downtown setting

Stephanie Gutierrez

Culinary Student

“At El Centro’s Culinary and Hospitality Institute, I’m learning how to plan a menu and use time management in the kitchen. Now with SkillsUSA, it’s teaching me to get where I want to go.”

Culinary and Pastry Arts

Albert Pantoja III

Senior Accountant American Home Mortgage Servicing

“My experience was really good; I learned a lot about different types of loans, underwriting and loan origination. The program gave us a broad overview from the get-go. I didn’t have any previous experience in mortgage banking at all, so it really helped me to prepare for changing jobs into the industry.”

Banking and Finance

Tammy White

Project Manager Verizon Telecom

“The most important thing I learned in my education was a sense of accomplishment and purpose, and that nothing is impossible as long as I am willing to expend the effort to reach my goals. I have been promoted a number of times in recent years, into positions of more and more responsibility as a direct result of my education.”

Business, Business and Management