Margaret Smith

Professor

“College should be a taste of knowledge and should whet your appetite to continue learning for the rest of your life.”

Over the past decades, Margaret Smith has had many opportunities to perfect her skills in home economics. As the mother of seven children, she spent a lot of time in the kitchen feeding the hungry troops. So when the little ones grew and moved on to college, it seemed only natural for Margaret to transfer her skills from the home to the classroom.

“I had stayed home for 20 years to raise my family,” she says. “But then I wanted to go back to school, and in 1985, got my master’s degree in nutrition and foods.” Besides teaching nutrition and cooking at SMC, Margaret has also found a way to connect her passion for teaching with her passion for travel. “I’ve lectured on cruise ships to passengers on educational travel tours,” she says, admitting that it’s a “captive classroom.”

Her enthusiasm for the culinary arts didn’t stop there. “I have worked with all of the California community colleges on the food and nutrition curriculum,” says Margaret. “I enjoy seeing what other people are doing and bringing that to our own campus.”

The only break Margaret seems to take from her involvement with food is when she’s exploring the great outdoors. And this she does with the same gusto she brings to her cooking classes. She has hiked to the top of Mt. Whitney and is also planning a mega-hike from the north to the south rims of the Grand Canyon.

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