Piece of cake: Six Albany Turner Job Corps culinary arts students earn positions at Disney

Alan Mauldin
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ALBANY – For both Christina Roland and Janiya Sabree, it was a first, or near-first, “real” interview for a full-time job. And both passed with flying colors, being selected out of hundreds who were vying for positions with Disney in Orlando.

In fact, the two were among six from the Albany Turner Job Corps Center who were hired during the culinary hiring event with the Walt Disney Co. in New Orleans with students from around the country. Only 35 were hired from the first-ever Disney hiring event with the organization.

“That’s my dream job, to work in your favorite childhood (place), to see Mickey and Tinkerbelle and all the characters,” Roland said. It’s really exciting.”

Roland and Sabree will be joined at Disney by Turner students Antwon Bradbum, Josiah Stegall, Kaetlyn Arias and Victoria Wimberly.

Both Roland and Sabree said they had emotional reactions when they were notified that they were hired after meeting with Disney’s top chef during the event.

“Once I saw that email in the airport I was overjoyed,” Sabree said. “I sort of started crying.

“He asked us how we would make different things, like chicken; he asked how we would prepare it. I was a little nervous. But it was a piece of cake.”

When it comes to food, the 18-year-old who is nearly finished with her high school curriculum said she loves to cook steak, but lately she has been on a Mexican kick making birria tacos that her mother is crazy over.

She said she sees the opportunity at Disney as a chance to learn and gain more skills for the future.

“I’ll be going to Orlando Aug. 5 to start my Cook 2 position,” she said. “I think it’s great. I would not have thought I would be in this position. Once I got here I realized the opportunity.”

The new hires will get to live in Disney housing and have transportation and other perks, including discounts for themselves and family at the parks.

“It means big things,” Sabree said. “I do want to learn and learn the ways of working in a restaurant, the ways to be successful. In the future, I plan to be a private chef … cooking out of people’s homes. I want to be my own boss.”

Roland said she was inspired to go into culinary arts due to the influence of her sister and mother.

“I really miss them,” she said. “I really miss my sister’s cooking. My mom can cook, too.

“I can bring my family here and have a good time. I can see Mickey every day. I get to go on all the rides.”

Like Sabree, Roland said she cried when she got the news that she would be working at her favorite place. Her email was delayed, so she initially thought she would be left out. Although she was nervous about the interview, she was able to overcome that nervousness.

“I stayed calm for most of it,” she said. “I wanted to meet his expectations. He looks like he has high standards. This man has been working for them for 46 years.”

Meeting other students in the federal Job Corps program from throughout the country was also exciting for Roland, who soon realized they were all competing for the same jobs.

“To be honest, I think of it not like competition, but opportunity,” Roland said. “You could be working with some of these people. In Job Corps we help each other. My whole team, we help each other out.”

The Albany Job Corps Center has been in operation in Albany for 45 years and currently has about 458 students who are working on high school diplomas and/or one of 16 trades.

“This is really a life-changing opportunity,” culinary instructor Harvey Hudson, known affectionately by students as “Chef Harvey,” said “It makes me feel good to be part of this program. It’s a wonderful experience for students. It makes me feel good. They stuck with it. They got a job, and they earned it.

“These are six of the best students, and I’ve got more.”

The course of study covers cooking basics, including sauteing, broiling and baking, as well as fundamentals of desserts and menus. But it also includes more, the instructor said.

“We teach them how to work in a restaurant, how to look like a professional and how to conduct themselves once they get there,” Hudson said. “We teach them leadership. The majority of them want to get advanced training or get a decent job.”

Staff Photo: Alan [email protected]
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