Syrena's Open Road
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Syrena Johnson Highlight (1:14)
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Interview (3:49)
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Don't Think That It Can't Happen (0:51)
Interview Excerpt -
Didn't Want To Fail (0:52)
Web Exclusive -
Leadership Through Work (0:31)
Web Exclusive -
Scared of Failing (0:35)
Web Exclusive -
I Have To Do That (0:54)
Web Exclusive -
It Paid Off (0:43)
Web Exclusive
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INTERVIEWED BY:
Team Full Circle
SYRENA JOHNSON
Chef
Liberty's Kitchen
“Don't let life go by. Don't be shy, don't be timid. If you want it, get out there and get it.”
INTERESTS:
THEMES DISCUSSED:
Doubt Failure Choices Hard Work Goals Simplicity Fear Perseverance Experience Struggle
FOUNDATION:
BIOGRAPHY:
- She was raised in uptown New Orleans, which she calls "one of the grimiest places."
- Growing up, she easily could've gone down a bad path, but she always chose to work and stay in school.
- Her first job was at McDonald's; she started at the bottom and worked her way up to fine dining.
- Looking back, she realizes she was always in the kitchen with her mother; that passion was always inside of her-she just had to identify it.
- Now she works at Liberty's Kitchen, a program for at-risk youth that teaches job skills through cooking.
- Her dream is to have her own restaurant where everyone who comes to eat can lick their plate clean and leave happy.
- For a long time, she thought her hard work would never pay off, but with a little bit of patience, she's been able to see her labor come to fruition.
- Says you have to get out there and get what you want: she's 23 years old and living all of her dreams because she went after them.