ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

#DoughSomething: Kendall College Alumna Serves up a National Campaign for Justice

In May of 2021, the Chef, and Kendall College alumna, Beverly Kim (‘00, A.A.S. in Culinary Arts), was featured in an ABC-7 story about her efforts to shine a spotlight on the stubborn problem of anti-Asian racism. When the COVID-19 pandemic set in two years ago, Kim was struggling with the news of rising hate crimes against Asian-Americans. As the story details: “Desperately wanting to do something to help, Kim finds inspiration again in her kitchen. The award-winning chef decided to answer the call to action with the hashtag #DoughSomething. What started as a social media campaign to raise awareness and funds for Asian Americans Advancing Justice has now turned into a national movement with nearly 100 restaurants joining the campaign. “It’s about solidarity across the board and the country, solidarity that we need to reckon with,” Kim said.

“This anti-Asian hate, we have to name it, we have to have time and space to grieve. For the first time, I see this really deep connection to it in our whole community, finally allowing ourselves the space to grieve and be mad and demand change, not just ask, but demand. This is not the way we should live.” Chef Kim’s activism on this issue represents the best of what we can be. We encourage you to read the full story here: https://abc7. com/beverly-kim-doughsomething-our-americaasian-voices-aapi/10553774/

More recently, Kim has been involved in efforts to help working mothers stay and succeed in the restaurant industry. In 2020 she launched The Abundance Setting, which according to a recent interview is “a nonprofit designed to support working mothers in the culinary industry, with programming that includes meal relief, networking assistance, and mentoring opportunities.” You can read the full interview here: https:// backofhouse.io/stories/beverly-kim-interviewabundance-setting-working-mom-restaurantindustry

Presidential Honors for a NLU Alum

NLU alum and military veteran, Darrell Williams, was inducted into the White House Communications Agency Hall of Fame in 2021! White House Communications Agency military members or civilian employees are inducted into the WHCA Hall of Fame in recognition of their sustained superior performance of duty in support of the President of the United States.

Mr. Williams graduated from NLU in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Management, which he says opened the door to his post-military career. Congratulations, Darrell!

A Champion for Her Community

COVID-19 upended many lives, but it hit poor communities such as Chicago’s predominately Latino and Black Little Village neighborhood particularly hard. At a critical juncture in her students’ lives, Olga Contreras (‘02, B.A. in Early Childhood Education), a second grade teacher at Saucedo Scholastic Academy, a second grade teacher at Saucedo Scholastic Academy, stepped up to battle the threat of learning loss. Doing everything she could to make remote school feel like regular school, Olga became an advocate for her students when they needed one most. Her passion for her students led to two feature articles in Chicago’s Public Radio Station, WBEZ.