Enhancing Your Professional Experience with a Culinary Arts Degree

Charlie Ruffolo • October 11, 2021
lci student spotlight

New Orleans native Jauna Wesson now calls Gulfport, Mississippi home, but knew that her passion for cooking and entertaining would bring her back to Bayou State. That destination was the premier culinary school in the South, Louisiana Culinary Institute. Jauna is currently in the savory program at LCI with plans to pursue a second degree in hospitality and culinary management. This education, combined with her over 27 years of professional experience in the industry, will help her open her own banquet hall and event planning venue.


Jauna has been in and around the kitchen since she was six years old. Learning the technical reasons behind the generational cooking methods she grew up with has been enlightening. “Learning the reasons behind how things are done in the kitchen, as parts of recipes, has been interesting. Finding out why my Mom and Grandmother did things a certain has been rewarding,” says Jauna. 

On the other side, math has been challenging. “It’s not just converting.” The business math taught at LCI, as well as the other mathematical applications in the curriculum, are in place to make sure that each student is ready with the right skills to go into the workplace. 


“Jauna has been able to catch on and execute what is asked of her. She is a very fast learner and has been a complete joy in my classroom!” says LCI Instructor, David Rodriguez.


Jauna wants to offer a one-stop shop for brides, as well as other events. “My big focus is to have a lovely building in a nice area where we can offer food, drinks, decorations, flowers, and event planning.” Her desire to host, plan, and help create lasting memories is the vision for her business after completing her degrees at LCI. “I want to provide a wonderful experience for people.”

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LCI dining hall event venue in Baton Rouge

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From Music to Kitchen Mastery: Student Spotlight on Ben Messina

By Charlie Ruffolo • March 25, 2026
Some people know from childhood exactly where they're headed. Ben Messina took a different route. He started college as a music major, took a gap year to find his footing, and leaned on his brother's encouragement before landing exactly where he was always meant to be: a professional kitchen . Now a senior in the Savory program at Louisiana Culinary Institute (LCI) in Baton Rouge, Ben is weeks away from graduating in May 2026. He arrived at LCI with a love of cooking and a family connection to food. He's leaving with a world-class culinary foundation, a mentor who pushed him to be his best, and a dream of opening multiple restaurants of his own one day. His story is proof that the path to a culinary career doesn't have to be a straight line. Is It Too Late to Change Careers and Go to Culinary School? For Ben, food has always been part of the family fabric. Growing up in Baton Rouge, he spent time in the kitchen with his grandmother, learning to make snickerdoodles as a kid. Those early memories planted a seed. But Ben initially followed a different passion. He'd played trumpet and piano since a young age, so he enrolled at Southeastern Louisiana University to study music. It wasn't long before the questions started creeping in: "What am I actually going to do with a music degree?" He took a gap year to figure it out. And the answer, when it came, was simple: go back to his other love. Cooking. His brother, who owns a food truck, had been encouraging him to consider culinary school. More specifically, he encouraged Ben to look at LCI. And then, without warning, he signed him up for a campus tour. 
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