We’re in the dead of winter here in the Hudson Valley, and since CIA is positioned right along the Hudson River, it is majestic to see a new mosaic of icebergs floating for miles and miles every day. This week, we’ve all noticed that the sun began setting just a little later, which has helped keep morale up amongst the students. Being just under halfway into the semester, we’ll take anything we can get to help get us through the next eight weeks. Yesterday, half the school, including myself, received their booster shot, and as a result, the campus is a ghost town. Everyone is hunkered down in their dorm rooms sleeping off the side effects. Because of this, I will personally be keeping this blog post short and sweet this week.

Here’s what’s happened at CIA this week: For Lunar New Year last weekend, the dining hall turned into a party space full of delicious Chinese-American foods like scallion pancakes, spring rolls, kung-pao cauliflower, and matcha-based desserts. There have been several new additions to the school to expand their education about food cultures, which makes me proud to be in a school with progressive thinking faculty. The African Diaspora cuisines class is becoming a complete degree program for students to focus on. At the same time, the school just announced their newest course is Latinx in the United States, which aims to educate students about Latin American influence and struggles in our country. CIA is a highly diverse school with students coming from all across the world to learn the best cooking techniques. This institute recognizes that food is a powerful medium for sharing our stories. It is extremely hopeful to see that they facilitate a space for all students to participate.