Chef Instructor Susan Callahan Wins the Kendall Award for Excellence in Teaching

Shares Recipes For Success With USG Students

Susan Callahan

As a Chef Instructor and Lecturer in the Hotel and Restaurant Management program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore's Shady Grove campus, Susan Callahan knows how to stir up excitement in her students. Known for her passion, enthusiasm and instructional creativity, Callahan is this year's winner of the Kendall Award for Excellence in Teaching. The Kendall Award was established through the generosity of USG supporters Clifford and Camille Kendall.

At USG, Callahan helped establish a vibrant chapter of the nonprofit Campus Kitchens, which helps feed needy families in Montgomery County throughout the year (see accompanying story) while also teaching professional development skills to students.

"Susan is wonderful - she is always trying to empower us and make us leaders. She's a great motivator and very energetic. We're lucky to have her," says USG senior Mary Vargas, student leader of Campus Kitchens.

Callahan has a background in the culinary arts and was a corporate trainer for Marriott. She also taught at L'Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda before deciding to teach at a university level. "We have great education right here in Montgomery County, for students who can't afford to go away to school. And we have great clients here to hire them, like Marrriott, Clyde's Restaurants and Ridgewells Caterers," she explains.

A resident of Silver Spring and the mother of four grown sons, Callahan is also a textile artist and has shown her work throughout the country. "I love working with my hands and creating things," she says, as evidenced by her hot pink and bright yellow chef's jacket which she tie-dyed herself.

For this colorful chef, receiving the Kendall Award "is really just amazing - I'm shocked and honored," Callahan says.