Westmoreland Offers Recipes for Success and Lifelong Friendships
May 1, 2023Gregory Nemchick of Greensburg and Justin Chisholm of Export became friends quickly when they enrolled in the Westmoreland Culinary Arts program.
As nontraditional students, they both were apprehensive about being the oldest students in the program. While not actually “meeting,” they saw each other during a Zoom class which put both men at ease.
“When I started, I was nervous about being older than the rest of the students but seeing Greg was a breath of fresh air,” said Justin, 42. “The next time I saw Greg was heading to our first in-person class. I saw an older gentleman walking in at the same time so I introduced myself, we shook hands and started talking.”
Greg, 66, expressed the same feelings as Justin.
“I saw Justin getting out of his truck when I arrived on campus and recognized him from the Zoom class,” Greg recalled. “I was relieved to have another classmate who was around 20 years younger than me rather than 45 years younger. The nervousness of being on campus as a nontraditional student went away and never returned.”
According to Justin, they found a connection through their ages and stories about their successes in their past lives or “Act 1” as Greg likes to say. They also found commonality with their maturity, love of cooking and food, and military ties.
Justin joined the Army at 18 and was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001-04, 2006-07 and 2009-10. Before retiring from the military, he was a drill sergeant from 2011-13 and helped to build the Army’s new officers.
While Greg did not serve, he’s a Gold Star family member as his oldest brother was killed in action in Vietnam in 1966.
“My mother did not want me to serve after that and I couldn’t argue,” Greg said. “I greatly respect Justin for serving our country for more than 20 years in some very difficult deployments.”
“He’s a very modest person and cares about others around him. In the past six months, we’ve gone from friends to brothers and I value that connection,” Greg added.
Greg’s “Act 1” was as a CEO at Workplace Furnishings and never had the opportunity to go to college as a young man. After retiring, his interest in cooking continued and friends told him he missed the boat and should have become a chef. One day he told his wife, “I’ve not missed anything yet; I’m still breathing!” Greg soon went online and enrolled at Westmoreland.
While Justin served his country, his dream has always been to be a chef and own his own diner – a small subway car with a counter, stools and a few booths serving home-style cooking with a twist.
“I want to be able to talk with everyone coming in and know their names and orders,” Justin remarked. “A friendly place where people can connect, which I feel is lost these days with the ‘dumbphone.’”
The men, while not knowing each other previously, chose to attend Westmoreland because of the reputation of the Culinary Arts program and its faculty being ranked #1 in the Top 10 Best Culinary Schools in Pennsylvania in 2021.
At Westmoreland, they both experienced the same support system from advisors including Missy Kochuga, Pathways advisor, who helped them schedule classes and guided them through the world of academia. The Culinary Arts faculty played a large part in helping the men build confidence and knowledge as future culinarians as well as developing skills they’ll carry the rest of their lives.
Additionally, they provide support for each other by becoming not only great friends but lab partners and encourage each other via phone calls and texts.
Both Greg and Justin agree that Westmoreland is a great place to be and start a college journey.
“Regardless if it’s your first choice out of high school or you just need to find your goal, this is the place to start,” Greg commented.
“For older students, I’d tell them to go for it, give it all you’ve got, get involved, have fun and show traditional students that the older generation is wicked cool,” Justin enthusiastically noted. “Your college career will only be as cool as you want it to be. Ask questions. Look up from your phone. Make a connection and get involved!”
“Come and find me and Greg and we’ll help you. We’ll be the old guys smiling, trying to look cool without our chef coats on,” Justin concluded.