Carolyn Thacker

Professor

“My father was an educator. So I guess teaching is just in my genes.”

“I’ve been at SMC for 18 years,” says Carolyn Thacker. “I’ll always be certain of the time because my son is 18, and I started teaching here three months after he was born.” Carolyn began teaching through Community Services. “I had effectively retired from teaching junior high school,” she says, “so when the opportunity arose to teach cooking at SMC, I was excited to get back into the classroom.”

As a high school student, Carolyn was absorbed in science. “The biological sciences were my passion then,” she remembers. “And I had a lot of teachers that were inspirations.” But her counselor directed her towards home economics as a field of study. It was a decision she never regretted though, “today, in the same situation, I would have considered many more options.”

Carolyn says that in today’s food industry, there is indeed a great requirement for scientific knowledge. “Nutrition, principles of preparation and the health aspects of food all require a great deal of study,” she says. And she adds that cooking has taken on a somewhat glamorous aspect as well. “Today, it’s a very prestigious position to be a well-known chef.”

“I’ve always just thoroughly enjoyed teaching,” says Carolyn. “You always pick up students’ enthusiasm, so it’s a two-way interchange. And at SMC,” she finds, “it’s great to have a kitchen filled with people from all over the world. Working with food,” she adds, “seems to always break down the barriers.”

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