From Pupil to College Instructor
Frank Bookhardt of Rocky Mount once walked the halls of Nash Community College as an aspiring Culinary Arts student, now he serves as the College’s third full-time Culinary Arts instructor. His time spent on campus as a student left an indelible mark on his mantra of “lifelong learning”. Frank says, “I hold in my heart that it is never too late to learn a new skill or trade, to pick up an instrument, or try something new. I think that there are not only second chances but third and fourths as well.”
Frank credits his teaching philosophy to the instruction he received while attending Nash. His teacher’s passion, inquisitive nature, humor and excitement kept him and his fellow classmates engaged and involved in learning. Their use of anecdotal stories helped make certain subjects easier to digest (pun intended). The active learning environment he experienced fostered an understanding that sometimes the teacher may learn as much from the student.
Whether engaging students through hands-on, conceptual or demonstrative methods, he says it will ensure that each of his students will have a chance to learn their own way. That use of multiple approaches to learning proves to be beneficial to the many different learning styles he encounters in the classroom. Frank says his belief will always be to continually improve student learning through each of these methods with the end result being another successful Nash Community College graduate. And finally, he shares, no matter how old one is, there is always time to, and value in learning something new.
In his role of instructor, Frank Bookhardt takes Nash Community College’s Culinary Arts program to the community. Recently, he participated in a community outreach effort by teaching local citizens healthy ways to prepare common foods such as okra. He demonstrated grilling, sauteing, baking and pickling techniques to preserve the food’s healthfulness by reducing the number of calories compared with popular cooking techniques such as frying. In addition to community outreach and event planning and support, Bookhardt will also teach Continuing Education courses for community members who wish to take one-time culinary classes or classes offered in a series.
Previously, he served as restaurant food and beverage manager, culinary blogger and country club kitchen manager.
