Valencia College

When they give you a national day, you gotta celebrate with some friends, am I right?

Recently, 19 students from the culinary, baking, and pastry programs at Valencia College had the opportunity to experience firsthand how a major food industry trade show comes together.

From June 6–9, our VC students participated in the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) trade show held here in Orlando, assisting chefs, business vendors, food suppliers, and show attendees.
Each student was paired with a different chef and vendor and worked alongside the WISL (What's In Store Live) team.

Throughout the event, students helped create snacks, food samples, and innovative product presentations using sponsor products. This hands-on experience exposed them to a different side of the culinary industry, including food styling, packaging, working with new equipment, and collaborating in a fast-paced trade show environment.
In addition to developing new skills, students gained valuable industry experience and made professional connections that could lead to future career opportunities.
The feedback from chefs, vendors, and attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Students were consistently praised for their professionalism, engagement, and outstanding work ethic throughout the event.

"As an instructor and industry professional with 46 years of experience, I also attended the show and witnessed for the first time the tremendous effort required to bring a food service exhibition together—from setup to ex*****on. It was an eye-opening experience and a reminder of the many opportunities that exist within the culinary field beyond traditional kitchen roles." - Valencia College culinary arts chair Steven Rujak

Know someone who’s planning to start at Valencia College this fall? Don’t miss our Summer Enrollment Bash events – which start at Osceola Campus this week and run through June 30 at all our campuses.
Get help with class registration, financial aid, and more!
Reserve your spot now by registering at the link below.

https://tinyurl.com/289yzc5b

On the 10th anniversary of the Pulse massacre, we remember the seven Valencia College students who were killed on that tragic night.

With World Cup 2026 kicking off today, we want to give a shoutout to Valencia College graduate Alejandro Tarazona, who’s managing transportation logistics for FIFA's 75 training sites in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Learn more here: https://www.ucf.edu/news/ucf-grads-score-jobs-with-fifa-world-cup-2026/

WalletHub recently ranked the top 50 college towns in the United States and Orlando finished near the top. Check out the rankings and see if you agree!

America's 50 best big college towns, according to data Stacker identified the best big-city college towns using the Best College Towns in America report from WalletHub, which ranks towns using 31 metrics.

Thanks to Community Paper Orlando for shining a spotlight on two of our recent graduates! Their words of wisdom and life experience -- coming from a young culinary graduate who has found excitement and passion in his chosen field, along with our oldest graduate, who completed her bachelor's degree in nursing -- are inspiring.
Congrats to Carter Aide and Angelia Ramsay McKay! We can't wait to see how far you'll go!

Orlando’s class of 2026: Keep moving, but ‘smell the roses’ - The Community Paper With summer on the horizon, students across the country anticipate the end of another chapter, including Orlando’s spring 2026 college graduates. Coming from a variety of backgrounds and future ambitions, students from the University of Central Florida, Rollins College and Valencia College shared ...

, let’s revisit one of Valencia College’s famous graduates, Chase Stokes!

Stokes, who recently wrapped up filming of the last season of “Outer Banks,” graduated from Valencia College in 2013, after attending nearby Timber Creek High School.

Chase Stokes and ‘Outer Banks’ Cast Feel “Ready” to Say Goodbye: “We Want the Story to End on the Right Note” The fifth and final season releases on Netflix next year.