New Students for the new school year
It’s almost “back to school” season again. Approximately 25 new students will be enrolling as new candidates for the MLA in Gastronomy or the Food Studies Graduate Certificate. Here is an introduction to four more students who will join us this fall.
Sam Dolph grew up in the Boston area and received her BA in literature from Bennington
College in Vermont. After becoming inspired by a course she took as an undergrad called “Women Writing About Nature,” Sam began farming on Martha’s Vineyard to develop her own connection to the land. Sam continued farming for four summers and was amazed watching little seedlings grow into bloom and then land on her dinner plate. Farming helped cultivate Sam’s passion for not only growing, cooking up, and eating delicious food, but also using that food as a catalyst to build sustainable relationships and communities.
After graduating, Sam spent time working in the food industry/food startup world in Boston to learn about the different ways food functions and is valued by consumers. Now, Sam understands food to be at the core of the social and environmental injustice that we experience as a society both locally and globally and is motivated by the intersections of nutrition, public health, and social justice.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Giselle Kennedy Lord grew up devouring her mother’s Lebanese stuffed 
grape leaves on Christmas, Cuban black beans after school with her best friend, and Baja-style fish tacos at the Redondo Beach pier all summer long. While earning her degree in Film and Latin American Studies at the University of San Francisco, she became deeply interested and involved in the farm-to-table movement and the depth and breadth of food culture she discovered in the city and while traveling in Latin America and throughout the world. Giselle moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2011 and formalized her video production business to specialize in food culture and agriculture. After years of capturing food stories, she stepped out from behind the lens and launched Quincho, a series of culturally inspired pop-up dinners in Hood River, Oregon, where she lives. Giselle has and continues to travel extensively and intentionally, perpetually motivated by the certain discovery of new food cultures, inherited techniques, and beautiful meals. Joining the Gastronomy program at BU is a dream realized for Giselle and she is truly looking forward to connecting with fellow food enthusiasts, expanding her knowledge and skill set, and discovering new ways to grow and define her business. Also, great dinner parties.
Christine Rogers, from Atherton, California, just graduated from Stanford where she 
earned a BA in Classics (Ancient History). She has been passionate about food and cooking since she was a little girl. She was always in the kitchen baking with her best friend or making special dinners for her family. As Christine grew up, her love of food remained a driving force in her life. When she decided to take a gap year after high school, Christine decided to pursue her love of food by attending several cooking schools in Europe, studying baking/pastry in Paris, interning at a winery to learn how wine was made, and interning at a local restaurant. In college, she interned for a local chef, helping her to test recipes, republish her cookbook, teach cooking classes, and fundraise for an online cooking TV show. Christine hopes to become a food writer, working for a food/food and wine magazine and writing her own cookbooks one day.
Paweethida Tanjasiri was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand where the food scene is
very vibrant and lively. She graduated with a bachelors degree in Interior Architecture and worked as an interior designer for a little while. After that she decided to step into the magazine industry as a graphic designer and food photographer, where she had a chance to meet a lot of people in food and media industry. From that point, it inspired her a lot and she started to work as a freelance food stylist. She also interned at “The Jewels of New York” (a multidisciplinary studio based in Manhattan which is focused on food services) as a food stylist assistant in order to gain more knowledge and practical techniques for food styling.
After returning to Bangkok, she started to be a full-time food stylist and also started her own food business called “Meat & Bones” which takes inspiration from American BBQ culture. After she had been working in a food industry for years, both in food media and also running a restaurant, she decided to pursue her master degree in BU’s Gastronomy program to dig deeper in various aspects of food which will support her passion and career about food in the future.