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Spotlight: Nick Dispenza

Recruiters from companies like Disney World and the Marriott Corporation actively recruit JJC culinary arts students—even before they've graduated.

Second-year student Nick Dispenza passed up multiple football scholarships to attend JJC's Culinary Arts Program.

"I had always wanted to go to culinary arts school," he says. "When I started at JJC, I knew it would be challenging but rewarding."

JJC's program is composed of full-time, multi-certified chef and hospitality instructors with a combined total of over 140 years of industry experience.

"Teachers here are down to earth," Dispenza says. "They want you to learn. Classes are small and hands-on. It's everything I thought it would be."

After he's completed his degree at JJC, Dispenza, 20, says he'd like to work at a five-star restaurant, dealing with the fast-paced, busy atmosphere of hot food production—preferably at a resort in Las Vegas. With a primary interest in pastries, the Joliet native says his favorite thing to do in the kitchen is build a cake.

Besides being the first public community college in the nation, JJC also is a pioneer in culinary arts. The college's culinary arts curriculum was developed in 1969, making it the fifth American institution to offer professional training in the culinary arts.

Now, with just over 3,800 culinary training schools in the United States, JJC is still ranked among the best.