Graduate Spotlight - Torkelle Summerall

posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 in  Alumni Profiles

Torkelle Summerall likes helping people, which is why she became a certified nurse aide (CNA) after high school and considered a career in nursing. However, healthcare wasn’t the right fit for Torkelle, so she looked elsewhere. She didn’t have to look far.

Her father had started his own barbeque business, so the Waterloo East graduate pivoted to Hawkeye’s Hospitality Management program.

“I’ll still be able to help people and I can actually help him and just make it a whole family affair,” she said. “That’s when it really drew me in.”

Everything about her Hawkeye experience has been about family, from her sister who encouraged her to go back to school, to her four-year-old son, who enjoys  doing homework with his mom. 

“He actually thinks it’s cool because he sees me with my backpack,” Torkelle said. “He’s a little more eager to get up and go to school.”

Tags

  1. Graduate Spotlight
  2. hospitality management
Back to top