Leena Mergen Joins Kalamazoo Valley's Community Culinary and Nutrition Program

Portage native Leena Mergen, 51, has worked in restaurants since she was 16, but knew that she needed an education to truly feel secure in the culinary workforce. She’s now employed at Kalamazoo Valley Community College as a support specialist with the community culinary and nutrition program where she puts her training to work helping others.

Mergen’s first job was washing dishes at Sunset Bowling Lanes in Vicksburg. From there, she moved up to working as a line cook and baker at the Black Swan restaurant. At the age of 23, she moved to Pennsylvania to work in a family member’s inn. What was supposed to be a six-month assignment turned into 10 years and a love story that resulted in her marriage to Steve Head, the inn’s sous chef.

Steve died in a car accident when the couple’s daughter was four and son was four-months-old. The children are now both college-aged. Mergen made ends meet by cleaning houses when her children were young. Still, she wanted more stability. “I started to have a lot of fear about my future – straight up fear for my future,” Mergen said. “I saw education as my only way to break out of my situation. I felt like I was unemployable.”

When her mother sent her an article about Kalamazoo Valley opening a culinary school, she texted a friend in California who promptly sent her the link to enroll. Mergen credits pathway advisor Chris Stroven with helping her register for classes and prepare to become a college student. “He was wonderful,” Mergen said. “He guided me and was so great. I was a nervous wreck. I had never worked with a computer.”

She overcame her fears, persevered as a college student and graduated in December 2019 with a 3.97 GPA and nearly perfect attendance. An internship with the community culinary and nutrition program coordinator Lizzie Luchsinger led to her current position.

“The culinary field itself had catapulted in the time that I was home with my kids,” Mergen said. “Culinary was all I’d ever known and I thought the only jobs were in restaurants. I found community culinary and nutrition and was opened to a whole new world. I still pinch myself sometimes at how far I’ve come. I really can’t imagine where I’d be if I hadn’t pushed myself.”

Not only is she pleased with her accomplishments, but her children and partner are also proud of her. “I’m so happy I did it at a time when my children saw the struggle,” Mergen said. “They are so proud of me. We all have moments when we wish we’d done better, but now they’ve seen me at my best. It’s been quite a journey.”

Mergen’s job involves helping plan programs, putting on community culinary classes and food demonstrations and serving the 80 families who are participating in the Learning Kitchen program. “I never saw myself in a community education role, but I love being in a position where I can help others,” she said. “There are so many great things about my job – we get to cook, we get to teach, we get to teach nutrition to people who need it. I’m learning as I go – so many of these programs continue to educate.”

Mergen said she loves collaborating with co-workers including those from different departments. She recently taught a sold-out fairy garden class at the Food Innovation Center. She’s also grateful for all of the support and encouragement she has received from faculty and colleagues. “I really love my job and I’m so very proud and grateful to work for Kalamazoo Valley Community College.”

Although she had years of restaurant experience prior to receiving formal training, Mergen is pleased to have taken her skills to a new level. “I think education brings a lot of traditional skills. Even though I worked in kitchens for many years, culinary school is where I learned to properly hold a knife. There are all kinds of details like that. Education brings professionalism to the career. For me it’s very worthwhile.”

Mergen would encourage anyone to enroll in college classes. “Once you’re in the door at Kalamazoo Valley, so many other doors are opened,” she said. “I can’t say enough about all of the support I’ve received.”