I have decided to use my blog contributions to chronicle some of my own lifelong learning pursuits.  Genius idea, n’est-ce pas? This was my introduction to my amazing cohort at University of Maryland-Univ College (UMUC), where I was awarded a scholarship to pursue a doctor of management degree in community college policy & administration:

I am honored to be in the company of so many passionate advocates of lifelong learning and true thought leaders.  My name is T. Rishan Tesfamichael, and I am Director of Education at The LearnShop. I  have a more unorthodox series of circumstances that led me to participate in this program.  I enrolled at Georgia Tech at 16, and spent much of my academic and professional career as an architect practicing and teaching architecture in progressively responsible roles for governement and university clients.  I have had the worthwhile opportunity to sample various education environments first as a designer, then as an instructor and leader; I spent some time teaching primary and secondary school students in French public schools and later taught at a for-profit college. I eventually returned to my alma mater to help pilot a technology-driven microeducation program at Georgia Tech’s College of Architecture as a response to budget shortfalls. The pilot began as a blended, non-credit, on-demand, social learning platform driven by students and trade associations; it evolved into a startup incubated by Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center.  The startup concept was comparable to a community-driven Learning Annex, powered by a technology similar to Amazon.com.  The concept was later adopted by a Smithsonian affiliate museum, where we recruited a team, established a 501(c)3, and launched distribution channels tapping university partners, government agencies, and NGOs.

I joined this program because I believe that community colleges are fertile ground for ours and similar pursuits, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to position myself to better serve learners throughout the education continuum.

I currently reside in Atlanta with my daughter.  I spend much of my free time in a nearby Barnes & Nobles, the local watering hole and ad-hoc group therapy for parents of young children. I also volunteer at Northpoint Community Church and regularly participate in educational outreach programs such as Principal For A Day, career days, and field trip sponsorships.  [I was recently introduced to a few authors that have piqued my curiosity, whomI would love to explore during the rest of my free time].  That said, I imagine the rest of my free-time will now disappear, albeit for a wholly worthy cause.

Before the days of pleated paper chef’s hats that come in boxes of 100, a traditional Chef’s Toque was made of pleated and starched fabric.  Legend has it that the number of pleats in the hat indicated the number of methods that the chef knew to cook eggs.  Often a job interview for a cook’s position is nothing more than to cook a simple omelet.  Sounds easy enough, but the technique is everything.  Eggs are the standard by which other protein sources are judged.  They act as a binder, a browning agent, a leavener, an ingredient, a main course, appetizer, main dish, soup, salad, and dessert, even beverages!  Understanding the many complexities of the uses of eggs is just one of the many things an avid cook, hobbyist or professional, must master.    How many pleats would you put in your toque?

Chef Christy

Everywhere around the world, no matter how or when, we all learn something new each day. Its no different at the LearnShop. I enjoy taking the workshops in a relaxed and comfortable environment with patient instructors; nothing like an ordinary classroom, which is beyond boring. Need I say more?