For Ogeechee Technical College student Miranda DeLoach, cooking is about more than feeding people. She hopes to bring them joy and make them feel special.
“I would bake for anyone who would let me – anything to give back to people, and make them feel loved,” she said. “I am confident that pursuing my education at Ogeechee Tech has prepared me fully to achieve my dreams, and become the person I wished desperately to be when standing next to my dad in the kitchen as a child.”
Her passion for cooking was rewarded last week when DeLoach was named first runner-up in the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) competition for the top student in the entire Technical College System of Georgia. DeLoach earned OTC’s 2021 GOAL honor back in March.
“I’m grateful to Cindy Phillips and also the OTC Foundation for supporting me during the GOAL competition,” said DeLoach. “Without them I wouldn’t have been able to make it to state I appreciate everything they have helped me with.”
Seated in the Joseph E. Kennedy auditorium in front of friends, family and OTC faculty and staff, DeLoach heard her name called as first runner-up by TCSG Commissioner Greg Dozier over the broadcasted virtual ceremony.
DeLoach competed at the regional level against students from six other technical colleges and was announced one of nine finalists across the state in early May.
In her state competition speech, she told the story of how her dad and mom ignited her love for cooking and baking.
“I would spend hours each week in the kitchen with (my dad), listening to him talk about growing up in the kitchen next to his grandmother… most days the only time I could talk to him was during supper preparations. I started helping him cook meals as soon as I was able, which spilled over into me trying baking,” said DeLoach. “I instantly fell in love with baking, and it became my first hobby and passion.”
DeLoach said the first cake she ever made was for her mother’s birthday and her mom said it was “the best cake she’d ever eaten,” and declared she would never buy another cake again.
Bryan Richard, OTC’s Culinary Arts instructor, nominated DeLoach for GOAL and praised her tenacity.
“Miranda is not one to withdraw from a challenge, either academic or personal,” he said. “She completes what she starts and never lets difficulty get in the way. Her combination of leadership, academic accomplishment, and individual character is what sets her apart as a top student in the state.”
In accepting her GOAL award at Ogeechee Tech in March, DeLoach said:
“Technical schools are so unique in the way they approach education. There’s hands-on learning you don’t get in those huge classes where professors don’t even know who you are. Professors here, even ones I’ve only had for one semester in one class, know me by name.”