By Darren Sheftic
Hello All,
My name is Darren Sheftic, a Culinary Arts and Service Management (or CASM) major. I come from the Syracuse area in New York and after graduating from Onondaga Community College, I sought after furthering my education in the Culinary field. I chose PSC because of my vocational school instructor who used to be a recruiter for this great community. I’m not the only one he sent here though; Kay Alberry, Stephen Desimone, Adam Lupien, and Josh Tallman all came from the same teacher. While I originally only planned to stay here for the two-year degree, I fell in love with the community and couldn’t let it go so soon. I became a regular poker player on Wednesdays and Sundays, a less-than-stellar soccer player with supportive teammates, and a dedicated follower of Open Mic Night every other Thursday when all the amateur talent gets to show off what they’ve got in creative ways.
The school has definitely seen better days and I hear it from all majors, not just Culinary, but the tight-knit and welcoming community make it all worth it. I’ll be sad to see it go come fall when I graduate, but I’ll only look back at the happy memories that I made here. A lot of you may question whether it’s all worth it, but as long as you meet people along the way you can call your friends, the college experience will feel all the richer. My original college wasn’t nearly as friendly and even with so many people to talk to, it lacked the personal connection a college like Paul Smith’s provides. Don’t let the opportunity slip through your fingers to try new and exciting things while you’re here in your youth instead of bitterly looking back with regret in your old age of all the things that could have been.
Darren Sheftic is a 23 year old Senior at Paul Smith’s College. He is a Culinary Arts and Service Management major. Darren is from Auburn, NY.