A List Party at the Peninsula

"Choose to focus your time, energy and conversation around people who inspire you, support you and help you to grow you into your happiest, strongest, wisest self." - Karen Salmansohn

What a thrill to spend time with my A students from Kendall College, and to invite them to the phenomenal Peninsula Chicago to celebrate their success while enjoying inspiring conversation, award certificate presentations and our "compliment game" in which each student writes a compliment on each other student's certificate (described here too, scroll down), and delicious chocolate and pastry!

Seated and sparkling: Steve Boyu Zhu, Dana Marat, Kamila Tatubayeva, Karolina Silveira, yours truly Valerie Beck, Martim Castro, Lara Pucci, Emma Lin Peng, and Safra Junaid!

Wave if you love the Peninsula!

We welcomed our newest A-Listers who earned A grades during Summer 2017; those present were:

• Safra Junaid
• Emma Lin Peng
• Lara Pucci
• Karolina Silveira
• Steve Boyu Zhu

 and we celebrated with current A-Listers as well; those present were:

• Martim Castro
• Dana Marat
• Kamila Tatubayeva

as our A-List continues to sparkle!

What are perks of earning an A in my class and thus earning a spot on the A-List? In addition to celebrating at the A-List Chocolate and Macaron Party at the Peninsula, A-Listers receive professional development opportunities from me, such as joining me at various business, hospitality, or culinary events, or at seminars, networking parties, or volunteer days.

Plus, being on the A-List means being part of a special team at Kendall, for enhanced community and team spirit!

Each student received a signed certificate to which everyone at the table added a written compliment - thank you, Dear Students, for my compliments too! - so that connections were built, positivity was shared, and any down day can be brightened with a look back at your certificate,

while we enjoyed delicious blackberry macarons and chocolate brownie batons with coffee or tea,

plus thoughtful and exciting conversation in the beautiful Lobby of the Peninsula Chicago Hotel!

In addition to the exquisite pastries and macarons from the Peninsula, we sampled chocolate I brought to our gathering from my Chocolate Uplift wholesale distribution portfolio and craft chocolate subscription box business, just as I always bring chocolate to class for business case studies, sustainability examples, and chocolate appreciation practice!

This time:

• Fruition Chocolate (US pastry chef turned craft chocolate maker)
• Original Beans Chocolate (Amsterdam-based chocolate business; for every bar sold, a cacao tree is planted #onebaronetree) and 
• Good King salted and sugared snacking cacao (US woman-owned business, using cacao from women's collectives in Indonesia and Honduras).

The brands I represent are always:

• sustainable
• slavery-free
• soy-free
• small-batch and
• scrumptious!

Looking ahead, some of our A-Listers will soon graduate, and some past A-Listers already have; it is my wish that alumni connections will develop and deepen on our A-List platform. My Harvard College and Harvard Law School alumni associations are very meaningful to me, and I hope that Kendall College A-List alumni will similarly encourage and support each other!

With A-List ladies of intelligence and elegance: Safra Junaid, Lara Pucci, Kamila Tatubayeva, yours truly Valerie Beck, Karolina Oliveira, Emma Lin Peng, Dana Marat.

With A-List gentlemen of distinction Steve Boyu Zhu and Martim Castro.

No matter what these excellent A-Listers do, I am fabulously proud of them for their hard work, fresh insights, and strength of character. They are not only stellar students who set the pace in class, but also stellar people who touch and improve the lives of others, and with whom I am honored and invigorated to spend time.

My Dear Students, you inspire me, and I thank you for doing what you do, and being who you are!

Onward and upward!
Professor Valerie Beck

See you next time!