These quotes are from participants I coached at a non-profit in Las Vegas over 14 months in 2022-23.

I’m amazed how much my life has changed for the better in just the first few months of these courses. — Sylvia M.

This is my new home, you are my people and I’m happy to be here. —Nora J.

“I’ve been learning what I can do regardless of my health conditions.” —Rebecca C.

“Through the programs here, I got to look more within myself and learn about myself. I feel more confident and I’ve learned how to talk and share more easily with others.” —Suzana S.

“Thank you for all the encouragement and help! I appreciate this space as a place where I can be myself and be accepted for who I am.” —Sylvia E.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m a burden to the whole world. I appreciate the non-profit showing up and teaching this class because it gives me hope and allows me to approach life differently.” —LaTonya W.

“I know I am growing in self-advocacy. I hope to be a good example for others in learning how to speak up for ourselves & our needs.” —Sarah A.

These quotes are from students of mine at Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. I designed a 30-hour curriculum on entrepreneurship that was hands-on implementable for a cook ready to be in business for themselves.

“the teacher really knew what she was talking about” –Michael LaScala

“you helped me take off my ‘rose-colored glasses’ about business ownership and gave me some great resources for when I am ready to start my own business.” —Claire Pyott

“I really appreciated all the info on sustainable business, I think that is a unique perspective we wouldn’t have been able to get elsewhere. I also appreciated all the emails and personal attention Sandy gave us. Thank you for a great week.”
— Kathryn Dwyer

“Sandy, thank you for what you do here at the school. You have opened up a lot of knowledge to me and I hope one day to go further and open up my own business. You’re an amazing, brilliant woman, and I hope to know everything you know and more.” –Lyly Ho

“The class project really stretched me.” –John Cline

“the strongest aspect of this class was learning the hard realizations of business.” –Jasalyn

“I thought Sandy was a great instructor, with a great attitude and positive in moving forward and learning. Full of great information, not boring at all and kept me very involved in class and work. I’m impressed and thankful! — Tyler Crawford

“I enjoyed being in this class and learning about entrepreneurship. I really enjoyed the speakers you brought in and listening to their successes and struggles. Thank you!” — Katie Sorensen

“I loved this aspect of my culinary program. I learned so much during this week that I hope to apply to my career one day. You should not be leaving the program — you offer education many of Escoffier’s chefs can not. Thank you for being a wonderful educator.” –Nathan Barsanti (Salt, Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island)

“one of the strongest aspects of this program was the up to the minute knowledge of entrepreneurship, and the speakers.” –CS Dearfield

“the strongest aspect of this course was the teacher. Thank you for everything!” — Cory Lewis

“You are a huge asset to the school, I wish I had a year to learn this material.” –Chennel

“I learned so much! I can’t wait to research further and get involved in changing people’s view of food and the health benefits. Sandy did a great job of bringing her personal experience to every aspect of the business world. It was informative and eye-opening.” –Bree Kimbrough

“I came in knowing nothing about being an entrepreneur and now feel a bit more confident in going out there in the world and becoming my own boss!” –Ashley Beaman

“Thank you Sandy for being encouraging and up-beat! It helped me want to learn more.” –Hunter Smith

“Owning my own business is not something I am interested in doing, but I enjoyed learning about how much work has to go in it. this class has given me much respect for people who own their own businesses.” –Samantha Mozola

“I am very satisfied with what I learned in this class. Just thinking about these concepts was so intimidating to me but I feel more confident now that I have the tools to start my own biz, write a business plan, research demographics, etc. You did an *amazing* job in explaining all these concepts and also made it very interesting and entertaining. I was delighted to have had you as the instructor of this class. Thank you!” –Laura Turley

“The guest speakers were a nice opportunity to learn more about this area of learning in a way that isn’t found on paper or powerpoint.” –Kyle Goodman

“the strongest aspect of this course challenged me to understand what I don’t want to do.” –Rick Gallup

“the strongest aspect of this class was the teachers willingness to help us learn!” –Kris Kaelker

“thank you for teaching, you make the subject very enjoyable.” –Mari Meehan

“Sandy was definitely the best person to teach this class. She is friendly, enthusiastic, keeps my attention, passionate, creative and extremely knowledgeable.” –Rachel Maynard

“The daily reviews made great checkpoints for learning! This was a super beneficial class. Sandy, you are awesome.Relating your background with situations made it fresh and realistic.” –Sierra Johnson (Frog’s Leap Winery)

“the strongest aspect of this course was the dialogue between students and Sandy. I thought the class was great, I wish there was another week to go further in depth on all the areas we covered.” –Shelby McLaughlin

“the strongest aspects of this course were the speakers and the real world examples.” –Kira Thompson

“This class was beneficial to me because it’s where I want to go in this industry. I really enjoyed Sandy as our instructor!” –Michelle Senesac

“the strongest aspects of this course were the finance worksheets, guest speakers and knowledge of the instructor.”

“Thank you for your knowledge. I love applying this info towards my work now. I’ve slowly become a more valuable asset to my current employer because of this class. When you work for an entrepreneur, it’s highly valuable to know the work they’ve put into their business. I respect him SO much more than I already did.” –Kellyn Zimmer

“the strongest aspect of this course was de-mystifying entrepreneurship.” –Sarah Henniger

“I really enjoyed Sandy! She was welcoming and a very helpful, knowledgeable instructor. Hopefully we can keep in contact.” –Elizabeth Thorpe (Whole Foods)

“You were an excellent instructor, very enthusiastic and passionate about what you’re teaching. I wish we had more time together, thank you for taking the time to teach us!” –Jennifer Cooper

“Sandy was a great instructor. She knows what she is teaching and teaches it well. I learned so much.” –Kaitlinn Welton

“I thought I learned more from Sandy in five days than I learned from my chef about certain things. She is patient and very talented with a lot to offer.” –Kali Gibson

“Thank you for all of the great information we have learned in the past week. I appreciate this part of the program as I would like to own my own business in the future.” –Jeffrey Garrard

“I learned quite a bit about what it takes to get a business started. In the future I will be applying this knowledge and experience to opening my own place one day.” –Jamie Warburton

“I found this business class interesting and informative. I will use what I’ve learned later down the road if I decide to open a restaurant.” –Jarienne Davey

“I really enjoyed learning from Sandy. She was very thorough and taught the class well. Thank you!” –Matthew Murphy

“Always bring the dog.” –Lori Thayer

“the strongest aspect of the course was Sandy. This was very helpful and enjoyable. I learned a lot. It was good to get a big picture of the industry.” –Phil Grove

“This was more interesting than what I expected from a ‘business class.’” –Stephanie Franz

“Sandy was an awesome instructor. she made something that could potentially be boring and dreadful and kept us all intrigued and actually excited and focused on the topics we were learning about. Her teaching style is great for chefs since we need constant interaction and stimulation and she had the energy to keep us interested and not out in spaceland. thank you Sandy!” –Melanie Robbins

“the strongest aspect of the course was Sandy’s energy and making sure we all understood the material.” –Melanie Robbins

“Although it was difficult to withstand six hours daily of classes, Sandy was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic which improved the overall mood and productivity of the class. Overall, I enjoyed the supplementary materials (speakers and videos) as they helped provide real life physical examples of what we studied.” –Elaine Brownell

“…de-mystifying entrepreneurship.” –Sarah Henniger

“…the teachers willingness to help us learn!” –Kris Kaelker

“…the knowledge of the instructor.” –Kellyn Zimmer

“…Sandy’s energy and making sure we all understood the material.” –Melanie Robbins

“…the dialogue between students and Sandy. I wish there was another week to go further in depth on all the areas we covered.” –Shelby McLaughlin

“…the up to the minute knowledge of entrepreneurship.” –CS Dearfield