The most effective advocates for our Culinary Job Training program are the program’s inspiring graduates. They’re able to speak with authority and candor about the intensive 14-week program to prospective students, visitors, volunteers, and policymakers.
Our students receive their training at our Klein Center for Jobs and Justice—a 36,000 square foot training facility, commercial kitchen, and food hub that welcomes, in a typical day, well over 500 volunteers, employees, community partners, café customers, training applicants, and vendors. The members of our Guest Experience department dressed in turquoise t-shirts are responsible for greeting each person with universal respect and the detailed knowledge they need to find what they’re looking for. And it’s hard to imagine a more inviting first impression than our Guest Experience Guide and Culinary Job Training program graduate Rickia.
Since graduating from our Culinary Job Training program in January 2025, Rickia has been a welcoming presence at DC Central Kitchen. In addition to working at our welcome desk, she’s predominately displayed on our screens throughout the building. But the advocate for the program and DCCK did not think she was ever going to enroll in our program.
“When I actually came here it was supposed to be as support for a friend,” says Rickia. “But she didn’t come along. What was for her became for me.” Though she lives in Southwest DC, Rickia was wholly unfamiliar with DCCK before her first visit.
More than two years since first walking in our front door herself, Rickia now tells others why they might want to stop by. “Now I tell them come on down, take a chance. A lot of people need this, whether they know it or not, especially the self-empowerment classes. It’s good to be around new people, new faces, new environments. Sometimes when you stay in the same place, you get stuck.”
Stuck is how Rickia described her life before entering the CJT program. After giving birth to her first son, and sixth child, she was a self-described couch potato. After working for over a decade in the childcare industry, she needed something different. DCCK was the different she didn’t know she was looking for.
The supportive friend became the star student. Rickia was honored at graduation with The Curtin Family On The Job Training Award, given to the student who demonstrates the highest level of professionalism and growth during their internships and externships in the final weeks of our intensive, hands-on program.
Rickia went from student to award-winner to a Guest Experience employee of the month quite quickly. The CJT alumna has developed a friendly repartee with DCCK staff members. “I love my job. I get to engage with different people and set the tone in the morning. Whether it’s the front desk or the front door, I set the tone. I make everybody’s morning.”
Her co-workers agree. “Rickia is a pleasure to work with,” says Guest Experience Manager Anye’ Queen, herself a graduate of our training program who now coordinates volunteer experiences for 19,000 people each year at DCCK. “She has a very outgoing and bubbly personality. Each visitor that Rickia comes in contact with always has positive feedback to share about how she has made their experience a positive one during their visit. When Rickia first started, she made it known that customer service is something that she excels in. She has not proven us wrong. We are extremely proud of Rickia’s performance.”
“I love Guest Experience,” says Rickia. “I love interacting with people. I think that’s my gift. I think I’m a perfect fit.”
While that’s true, she’s not complacent in her current position. Rickia is hoping to work her way up the DCCK ladder with increasing supervisory responsibilities. She’s also enrolled in school, taking classes to earn her bachelor’s in criminal justice, on track to graduate in 2028.
Rickia’s children are just as happy as their mother is at DC Central Kitchen. “They love that I’m here. I come home and brag about the wonderful things that go on at work. And then I don’t mind getting up extra early to come to work. I’m not really a morning person, but I am an on-time person. Wherever you need me, I’m going to be there.”
Rickia’s experience and personality is also needed by often unsure Culinary Job Training program applicants. “When they do their three-day trial or information session, a lot of them are worried. I tell them, “Oh, piece of cake, you’re going to love it. Don’t worry about nothing, bring your A-game. If you need me, I’m here. I’m going to help you through it.” When I see them having a bad day, I see them crying, I walk up, I hug them. And I tell them, it’s okay. And you know, they’re thankful. I’m here to support everyone.”
Rickia didn’t come to the kitchen to change her life. But it has. And now she’s helping to change the lives of her future fellow alumni.
