A Guam resident has become the first student from Guam at Le Cordon Bleu Paris

Twenty-three year old Selah Chong was recently welcomed to the Le Cordon Bleu Paris after a post was shared on social media.

Family, friends, and the island community re-shared the post, showing their love and support for Chong.

She said that it was quite the journey getting to where she is now, “I graduated and got accepted to Seattle University. I went there for 6 months and then COVID happened.”

Chong moved back to Guam because of the uncertainty of the pandemic and the lockdown.

Doing classes online at 3:30 in the morning up until 7:30 because of the time difference made it difficult so she decided to attend the University of Guam, where she majored in Nursing.

But she found that it was something she wasn't really passionate about.

She said, “I switched to Marketing and while I was in Marketing, I had an at-home cake business, it was called Just Baked Guam and it was operated via Instagram, people would order and then I would bake it.”

It was then when she realized that she should focus on honing her baking skills. Through all this, the thought of attending Le Cordon Bleu Paris was on her mind.

However, to be absolutely sure it was a career she wanted to pursue, she enrolled at the Guam Community College's Culinary Program majoring in Culinary and Food Service Management.

She graduated in May and then would head over to Paris shortly after.

According to Chong, the journey to Le Cordon Bleu did have some bumps and roadblocks, especially when it came to obtaining a visa.

“Since there's no embassy here, I was calling everybody here. Anyone you could think of,” She said.

She reached out to Le Cordon Bleu who in turn contacted the embassy in Manila if they could assist. Chong said, “They said I could do it as a 'rare occasion' and when I got there it was very hectic as well.”

Despite the hurdles, she persevered. And after a two year wait in Manila, she got her visa and was ready to go.

So what kept her going?

“I knew I wanted to go to the school. I was manifesting it for two years. I wasn't gonna let a visa stop me. I knew I was gonna get it somehow, some way,” She expressed.

Wrapping up her first semester at Le Cordon Bleu, she is back briefly for the holidays.

Her first meal back?

“For breakfast, I went to McDonalds and I got a local deluxe,” She shared.

Truly a girl from Guam, in Paris, she says when she was settling in she was able to track down some cans of spam, much to her delight.

Chong says her time at GCC and at the Hyatt Regency Guam really helped her when she arrived at Le Cordon Bleu

She said, “Especially when we are in our practical kitchen we have to present a tart at 10:30 a.m., knowing how to organize your time wisely is a big thing and doing so at GCC really prepped me for that. Also a lot of techniques I was able to do because of the pastry dept. At the Hyatt, Chef Mina and Chef Mirko they were like the best chefs ever. Along with Chef Paul and Chef Bertrand.”

At Le Cordon Bleu ‘til 2025, with a view of the Eiffel tower from her balcony, and the opportunity to soak up all that is Paris, she knows none of it would not have been possible without her parents.

“They’re the reasons why I was able to event start at Seattle U, go to Harvest, go to GCC, go to Le Cordon Bleu....they are the reason why I even have this pathway...I'm very thankful.”

She added, “Mrs. Scharage. She is the reason why I was introduced to the culinary program. telling me everything about it. She is a mentor up til now...and Chef Kennylyn who helped approve my credits so I can get to Le Cordon Bleu.”

With a thriving culinary program and talent bursting at the seams, what piece of advice would she offer?

“If you manifest it enough and if you dream it enough, I think it can really work because as long as you have your mind set to it, all the decisions that you will make will dictate that end goal from point A to point B,” She shared.