C ertified ServSafe® manager Blair Henninger of Suwanee, Georgia, discovered her passion for cooking fine cuisine at age 14. She has been on the culinary career track in high school since that time and traveled on culinary study abroad programs to France in 2022 and Spain in 2023. 

Henninger discovered the culinary arts when she experienced the world outside of the United States, traveling to Paris and London with her family when she was 14 years old.

Ultimately, she aims to pursue a career in culinary arts overseas.

She’ll begin her journey majoring in liberal studies with a concentration in global studies at Georgia College & State University. She hopes to earn a certificate in Global Foodways Studies.

Henninger can’t wait to meet new people and find new interests on campus. She’d like to participate in the animal shelter club and the gardening club. She also wants to be a student ambassador.

She chose Georgia College because of the approachability of its people and its small size.

“I love how personal and friendly the people at GCSU were when I visited,” Henninger said. “I want to have a closer relationship with professors that I can only get at a smaller, liberal arts school.”

She aspires for a career that allows her to explore the world. She’d like to work with the state department or a non-governmental organization (NGO) on food access. 

“I want to see the world, find the connections between culture and cuisine and become involved with a food-related, NGO,” Henninger said, “where I can make a difference in food access and sustainability.” 

After her high school’s Spain Global Foodways Study Abroad Program, she traveled to Greece to visit with her best friend who is from there and returns home in the summers. 

“I was nervous—not just flying by myself from Madrid to Greece but flying back to Madrid and staying alone in a hotel,” Henninger said. “Then I flew from Greece to London then back home where I lost my luggage with the authentic Manchego cheese I bought for my family.”

As she looks back on traveling abroad alone, it was a challenge that she quickly overcame. 

“I just did it,” Henninger said. “I realized I could travel alone, which was a huge boost in my feeling of independence.”

Learn more about Georgia College & State University's Global Foodways Program, Liberal Studies Major, or Study Abroad opportunities.