Tucker grad awarded $20,000 scholarship from US Foods
US Foods Holding Corp. has introduced its 2025 class of food scholars, and one of the honorees hails from Tucker.
This year’s class, according to a release from the company, includes 18 students from 14 schools nationwide who are pursuing two- or four-year post-secondary degrees in culinary arts, hospitality, baking and pastry, or business management.
Each US Foods Scholar will receive a $20,000 scholarship to support their continued education, as well as professional development opportunities with US Foods, the release said.
In June, Holland, a 2025 graduate of Tucker High School, was also chosen to receive one of the American Legion Post #207’s first-ever School Medal Award and Scholarship. She joined other award winners Javier Jacon and Taja Pope, which, according to American Legion #207, “recognizes students who exhibit six core qualities of citizenship: Honor, Courage, Leadership, Patriotism, Scholarship, and Service.”
Holland is attending Johnson & Wales in Charlotte, NC, studying baking & pastry arts with an expected graduation date of 2027.
The US Foods Scholars program, launched in 2017, “was created to help meet this need by providing financial support and hands-on learning opportunities to culinary and hospitality students pursuing careers in the industry.”
Since its inception, the program has awarded more than $2.4 million in scholarships to more than 120 students. Currently, more than 30 active US Foods Scholars are working toward their degrees.
“As aligned with our commitment to helping our customers and the community ‘Make It,’ we are proud to support the next generation of culinary professionals through our US Foods Scholars program,” said Lisa Whitson, vice president, corporate communications at US Foods.
According to information from US Foods, Zoe “first stepped into the kitchen during the early days of the COVID pandemic as a way to pass the time.”
What started as a hobby quickly became a passion, especially when she baked her grandparents’ cream cheese pound cake for the first time using their handwritten recipe,” the statement said. “That experience sparked a deep appreciation for the way food connects people and preserves family traditions.”
US Foods supplied an interview with Holland wherein she discusses her journey:
Who is your biggest cooking inspiration?
“One of my biggest inspirations is my culinary teacher, Chef McCarthy. She saw potential in me before I saw it in myself and pushed me to go beyond what I thought I could do. Watching her cook without a recipe and still create something amazing inspired me to trust my instincts in the kitchen.”
What does being a US Foods Scholar mean to you?
“To me, it means being supported not just financially, but personally and professionally. I now have people who believe in me and want to help me succeed beyond college, and that’s something I’ll carry with me for a long time.”
What is your most memorable moment in the kitchen?
“Definitely the first day of my internship at the Georgia Aquarium when I accidentally turned a mixer on too high and covered the kitchen — and myself — in flour. Everyone laughed with me, not at me, and it reminded me that mistakes are part of the learning process.”
The post Tucker grad awarded $20,000 scholarship from US Foods appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.