The CIA Reputation

I'm glad to see that most of my classmates have had positive experiences throughout their externship sites and I feel that my experience was not among the worst. That being said, the reputation of our students was mentioned in class the other day and I felt like this would be a good place to touch on the matter.

My executive chef, (who is an alumni of the CIA), was sarcastic, ill-tempered, conceited, and many other negative attributes. He may do a lot of office work and hold many responsibilities, but that does not excuse his consistently poor behavior. My Suos Chef, (also CIA alumni), was not as bad, but definitely held the title of arrogance in the kitchen. My point is that the two main heads of the establishment were the most egotistical people in the whole hotel. It pained me to see such success behind a person that barely knows the meaning of the word humble. I sucked up like any peon would, and laughed at all his distasteful jokes, nodded my head yes when i completely disagreed with him, and most importantly, held back my true thoughts about him.

The reputation of the CIA is disturbing, upsetting, and non-motivational. The employees that had been there looked at me with a scowl, without even knowing what my abilities as a cook were. Whenever somebody asked me where I went to school, they either laughed at me or told me they were sorry when I answered them. The level of respect shown was disgraceful, and I honestly felt sick to my stomach at times when I overheard negative gossip. I wanted nothing more than to prove them all wrong, but i was never given a real opportunity.

Despite the negative comments I am giving about my experience, I learned much more than I expected and my skills have certainly increased since last year. I hope the rest of my generation is with me to prove every single face of doubt wrong when we become great. I know I do not stand alone, so join me in my quest to reclaim the prestigious name of The Culinary Institute of America.