You Make Us Better One Student at a Time invaluable insights offer students a glimpse into the real world
A Man With a Mission
of foodservice. Your astute advice guides them as they make
When Paul Sofka ’97
important career choices. And the modeling of your expertise and
talks about spreading
professionalism sets the standard for their own performance. Your
the word, he means it in
commitment to them and to all things culinary helps pass on a
the culinary sense. Paul
legacy that starts at the doors of the CIA.
is in the unique position
Every day of the year, alumni like you reach out to current and prospective students and do something extraordinary. Your
of director of culinary
Whether you choose to be a mentor, provide an externship site,
services at the Houston
expand students’ education by offering a demo on campus, talk
First Baptist Church in
the ears off a prospective student and his or her parents at a
Houston, TX. There are
College Fair, or donate a Gift-in-Kind to the college, every one of
many challenges when you
your generous acts helps to Make Us Better. paul sofka ‘97
Friends in Chicago
as many as 14,000 members. Paul might find himself preparing
For the past 12 years,
people, providing lunches for the K-8 church school and childcare
Michael Garbin ’76
center, or creating daily meals for the more than 200 church staff.
has been hosting
But Paul’s other job is to spread the word about the CIA. That’s
the CIA’s Alumni
why he attends Career and College Fairs, representing the CIA
Reception during the
whenever he can. He describes three types of people he meets
National Restaurant
there—parents who wish they could go to culinary school, kids
Association’s annual
who definitely know they want to come to the CIA, and the ones
meeting in Chicago,
he calls the “wanderers.” He’s there to convince them that the CIA
IL. Michael is the
is the best culinary education around. There’s nothing like a man
executive chef at the
with a mission!
of Chicago where the
GOAAAAAALLLL!
Club’s membership
Not many chefs can say
recognizes the
they recruit potential
importance of
externs for their hotels
Michael’s relationship with the CIA. With three restaurants and
by playing ice hockey,
180 guest rooms, this private club has all the amenities of a small
but Mark Quitney ’85,
hotel, and a CIA-trained executive chef certainly adds to their
executive chef at the New
cachet. Michael gives back to the CIA by coordinating the Alumni
Orleans Marriott, can. In
Reception. Every year, he asks for and receives the unstinting
the past when he would
support of local alumni. Together they donate all the food and
come north to the CIA’s
beverages for the event, leaving the CIA with only the expense for
Career Fairs, he would take
the wait staff. “I feel that hosting this reception is the best way for me to continue to give back to the college,” Michael says. “I want the CIA to know they have friends here in Chicago!”
18
congregation that numbers
meals for a three-day Southern Baptist Convention of 8,000
Union League Club
Michael Garbin ‘76
provide sustenance to a
the time to engage some mark quitney ‘87
of the students in a lively scrimmage during which he
www.ciaalumninetwork.com