Students take their own responsibility with their own cooking experiences in Mrs. McCollough’s classroom.
Photo by: Hayley Snyder
By Maria Herrera
Students at Plymouth High School are eligible to take a cooking class as an elective, but this is not the only place they cook.
Students discuss how cooking has affected their lives. Sophomore Evelyin Collins said, “Ever since I was little, I always watched my mom and grandma cook and I couldn’t wait [until] I was allowed to use the stove and not just the microwave.” While Collins was only using the microwave freshman Andrea Arroyo said “Since I was little I always cooked in the kitchen with my mom, [because] I’ve always just had a passion for cooking and making delicious food. My favorite part about it is tasting the perfection I made.”
There are numerous cooking shows, youtube videos, tutorials, pinterest posts and baking shows to watch. Anyone could see there are numerous ways to cook. Freshman Emory Smith believes that the class Nutrition and Wellness is affecting students at PHS because the classes “allow that high school students shouldn’t normally delve into the world of nutrition do so.” However, Collins does not believe the classes affect students. Freshman Andrea Arroyo said, “I had Nutrition and Wellness my first trimester. I honestly loved that class; the teacher Mrs.Condon was so nice I’m glad I took that class and something that I love of course. “
With seeing all the cooking utensils one would see that Mrs. McCollough’s room is no ordinary learning classroom.
Photo by: Hayley Snyder
Students say they sometimes take the responsibility of cooking at home, like senior Gianella Cerriteno who said, “I always step up when I have the opportunity to do it for anyone.” Other students do not enjoy cooking as much. Junior Nadia Baca says “No, but whenever my family wants cake or something, I have to bake it.” Other students like Smith are responsible for cooking the meals at her house.
Cooking comes with mistakes, memories, mix ups, family get togethers and more, but for sophomore Bailey Hatfield, hers came with learning and experience. Hatfield said, “Once I was making a cake and I was using an electric mixer. I thought for some reason I needed to smell the cake mix while it was mixing and my hair got caught in the mixer.” Others have memories with family members such as senior Marissa Hill who explains one of her favorite memories is “When I taught my little cousins how to make brownies from scratch and they absolutely loved it.”
When dealing with cooking and thinking about getting older, Sophomore Emily Arroyo said “Yes, I want to be a pastry chef. While Andrea Arroyo explains a little more she knows cooking will be apart of her life and said, “Yes I think cooking will always be a part of my life since day one. I just love cooking it’s the best thing ever there’s so many colors and so many ways to cook everything it’s ART. “ Freshman Lauren Wiegand also thinks that cooking will affect an individual’s later years as she said, “Heck yeah! If you want to cook, which is a helpful tool, your mom isn’t always going to be able to, especially if you’re on your own. Learning basic skills, can reach a wide range of dishes.”