As the school year fades to an end, many graduates are leaving the Athens Drive community to begin searching for their passions. While some may still need to decide exactly what to pursue, others are planning to continue building on interests they found while in high school.
Ava Seay is an upcoming graduate of Athens Drive, with a passion for food science inspired by her mother, who is a chef. Seay believes that this passion has been grown by a combination of opportunities and special teachers in the Athens Drive community. She plans on continuing her skills in culinary arts at Appalachian State University, studying food science.
“Ava’s knowledge of food and techniques for preparing food is amazing. She has no fear of trying new techniques and sharing her knowledge with others. Working with her is like a private lesson with a skilled chef,” said Cathy Beavers, Foods teacher at Athens Drive.
Seay has put in a lot of work to have the skills to work with food science, taking as many opportunities as possible to improve. She has worked with different programs at NC State and an internship program with Bold Batch Creamery, while still improving her Athens Drive community by running the food science club. At Bold Batch Creamery, Seay even made a special treat to commemorate her time at Athens Drive.
“I made an Athens-themed ice cream this summer. It is a vanilla cream base with marshmallow fluff, salted caramel swirl, cookie dough pieces, and a fudge top with orange sprinkles,” said Seay.
The teachers at Athens have been especially helpful to Seay in connecting her love of chemistry with her passion for creatingfood. Seay mentioned that Lauren Latta, Seay’s chemistry teacher, and Beavers have been key for progressing her interest in food science.
“I’m hoping to go into food chemistry- so if you’ve ever had pre-workout or anything like that where you have that flavor component, improving flavor based on chemical components and product development,” said Seay.
Over the next four years at Appalachian State University, Seay is planning on bringing her keen knowledge of food science to improve the community there. Seay mentioned that the Brew program at NC State has been inspirational, and she hopes to start a similar program in the mountains. There is no doubt that Seay will do wonderful things for the culinary industry, taking the passion discovered at Athens Drive with her into college to grow and inspire others.
“Ava is unselfish with her knowledge and the products that she creates. She has a unique quality of being able to get along with all age groups. The trait I admire most in Ava is her ability to comprehend the tasks that need to be done, and she does not even wait to be asked to assist. She has been a great asset to her class,” said Beavers.
