Maybell Galusha Lives in Omaha and Makes an Hour Long Round Trip Each Day to Go to Her

Maybell Galusha lives in Omaha and makes an hour long round trip each day to go to her dream job.

She’s the Culinary Instructor at The Career Academy (TCA), a joint venture between Lincoln Public Schools and Southeast Community College (SCC).

“The drive is worth it!” Maybell exclaims. After visiting schoolsin other states and teaching in Omaha dual enrollment programs, she knows how special the TCA culinary pathway is. It features a beautiful facility with state-of-the-art equipment, and is a unique experience for LPS students.

She explained, “The lab features a walk-in refrigerator/freezer, heavy duty commercial mixers, a dry storage area, commercial dish room, and a high tech demonstration classroom. We have the latest technology inside and out. It is definitely a premiere academy in Nebraska.”

The instructor is top notch, too. Maybell has about 29 years of experience in the field. Her culinary career started when she attended a week-long workshop in 1999 at Metro Community College with Chef Tina Powers. She was hooked.

Maybell smiled, “It was exactly what I was looking for!”

She completed basic culinary and pastry training at MCC, holds B.S. and Master degrees in education, and is certified as an American Culinary Federation (ACF) Certified Working Professional Chef (CWPC), Certified Culinary Educator (CCE), Certified Secondary Culinary Educator (CSCE), and is an ACF Certification Evaluator. In addition to her position at TCA, she’s been an adjunct professor at the Institute for Culinary Arts at MCC for 15 years, serves on the ACF Omaha board of directors and has served on the Nebraska Skills USA board for the past 3 years.

Maybell’s enthusiasm for her job and the program is contagious.

“What I love most is teaching – especially teaching high school students,” she said. “What I’m doing right now is the pinnacle of what I would have dreamed of achieving in my career. I’ve learned a lot this year, and the steps that I’ve taken to get to this point have been worth the effort. To have a career doing exactly what my passion is…that’s such a gift!”

TCA’s culinary pathway is open to any student in the Lincoln area. Tuition is free through scholarships or available at a 50% discount to SCC’s regular credit hour charge. AM and PM two-hour classes are held daily; juniors attend the morning class with seniors attending in the afternoon. Uniforms and textbooks are provided as well as all of the equipment – even knife kits.

Like in-school programs, students have the opportunities to win college scholarships and to demonstrate their skills and industry knowledge in both individual and team competitions sponsored by Lincoln Public Schools, ProStart and Skills USA.

Many of Maybell’s students have gone on to successful industry careers. One is a Food and Beverage manager at a 4 star country club in Philadelphia, another is a Certified Executive Chef at a HyVee in Omaha, and others work in restaurants in Chicago, San Francisco and Denver. One memorable student is in culinary school in Omaha and works as a chef at Kobe Grill.

“He’s an amazing guy. He won first place in culinary arts at State Skills USA two years in a row and competed at Nationals; which was a first for my students. He was the best competitor that I’ve ever seen, an athlete, a track star, a football player, and a skilled culinarian!”

Maybell has been coaching students in competitions for 12 years. Many culinary and foods teachers have different levels of experience and training. She believes that in any state, programs will always be diverse and offer uneven opportunities for students. In spite of this, competitions are a growth experience and are worth the time and effort needed to prepare students.

“In the end, it depends on the students and the motivation, passion, and energy that they’re willing to put into things like competitions. I valueculinary competitions.It is rewarding to watch confidence growing, and see them mature as aprofessional,” Maybell explains. “I don’t really care how they finish. I care about their growth during the entire process. They arealways winners - no matter what.”

When students complete the TCA Culinary Pathway, they’ll be ServSafe® certified with a Managers-Level Food Handler permit. Both make them attractive to food service employers.

If they want to continue their education in the culinary arts, they will have earn earnedover 30 college credits, which puts them well on their way to certification or to an Associate degree at ACF-accredited SCC. Earned credits may also be accepted by other two or four-year college programs.

Maybell’s goal is to fill all 48 seats in the four state-of-the-art classrooms at TCA and keep them full – even though she knows that career academy programs are subject to some attrition.

“Some students just aren’t at the place where they can handle college work and the follow through with what is needed to be successful.”

That doesn’t deter her. Convinced that her students need experience working in the industry to know if they really want to pursue it as a career, she’s busy making connections with Lincoln’s restaurateurs for employment opportunities. She’s also using other experts in the culinary arts to help provide skills and culinary training – and mentors to provide support as well as insight into the industry.

Many of her students have plans to continue their education in the culinary arts at SCC, MCC ICA, and Johnson and Wales University in Denver. And some are already in “the business” in local restaurants, like Source, the Nebraska Club, Venue, and Bread and Cup.