Shakeira Woods

In mid-March of 2018, Shakeira Woods, a Culinary Arts student at UA-PTC, was accepted as a summer intern at Yellowstone National Park.

Shakeira is an Arkansas native who transitioned to the state with her family at a young age from La Porte, Texas, a small town right outside of Houston. Her passion for food developed early in life as she came from generations of authentic Southern Soul food cooking women.

“Life has a way of handing you lemons and although it took a few years after graduating high school to straighten up my path,” said Shakeira. “I took those lemons and turned them into ice cold lemonade when I enrolled at UA-PTC. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and to this program for preparing me with the knowledge needed to complete this task.”

Her goal after the completion of the Culinary Arts program is to travel the world and learn about different diets and cuisines in other countries and become a personal chef in hopes of bringing her knowledge of cultural foods to others. Shakeira will be traveling to Yellowstone National Park to serve as a cook in one of their restaurants for a prestigious internship this summer. She is also a work-study student at the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute.

Yellowstone National Park Lodges is the largest concessionaire in Yellowstone, operating 31 restaurants ranging from fast food to finer dining, and 9 lodges with over 2,100 rooms. More than 100 various hospitality and culinary positions provide students the opportunity to focus internships, externships, or a career on a specific area of interest. Employees enjoy living in the park and have many opportunities for outdoor activities in Yellowstone and surrounding areas. Yellowstone hires over 3,500 employees for the summer season.