One key to a good scholarship interview

Whenever you’re the focus of an interview, it’s smart to know as much as you can about the company and people who are going to interview you.

One important part of your interview for a culinary scholarship from C-CAP is to understand what the organization is, and how it works.

This can be as simple as going to the C-CAP web site and reviewing the organization’s history. You can also take a quick look below at a brief, bullet-point synopsis, although it’s hardly the full story.

C-CAP Arizona’s executive director Jill Smith says, “I think it’s really important for each candidate to at least know who Richard Grausman is before the final competitions even begin.”

Jill suggests it’s also important for candidates to come into their interview armed “with at least one question. And students need to be open-minded about suggestions as to which schools might be valuable to them.

“Most students haven’t visited any of the schools they’re considering, and many haven’t thought out how they will be able to afford on- or off-campus housing or cover other living expenses while they’re in school.

“It helps to have two or three possible schools in mind.”

C-CAP – a brief history

· C-CAP = Careers in Culinary Arts Program

· dedicated to aiding underserved students find career/study opportunities in the food service industry

· established 1990 by Richard Grausman, cookbook author and educator, to teach home cooking in 12 NYC high schools

· grew into educational/scholarship program when Grausman realized students needed preparation for real jobs with real futures

· focused on

o teacher training (enhances teacher knowledge, student outcomes)

o scholarships and cooking competitions (largest independent

scholarship program in the industry)

o job training, internships, career advising (job shadowing, job readiness training, career counseling)

o college advising and College 101 (to help scholarship winners succeed)

o product donations (aids understocked, underequipped classrooms)

· Arizona has the only state-wide C-CAP program in the country