Ms. TSTC 2008 - Raymondvilles Casandra Jennise Patiña Royalty should be afforded the luxury of redcarpet treatment and pageantry befitting high social rank, but Ms. TSTC 2008 - Casandra Jennise Patiña of Raymondville - often finds herself in the role of "the working class."

She received a $1,000 scholarship toward her Culinary Arts education for earning the crown in February. Then, the work began by representing the college community at events such as freshman orientation, the Community Resource Fair, the fund-raisers for the Wes Lepard Harlingen Heart Walk held on campus, Welcome Week for fall semester, the Education & Career EXPO, Oktoberfest and Open Mic Night. The official duties for her highness sometimes involve humility, like scooping cheese onto nachos, but she enjoys the role.

"I wanted to let people know that TSTC isn't just a technical school. Students get much more experience here with plenty of classroom and laboratory experience so their career skills become second nature or automatic before they enter their professions," Patiña said in an interview.

"I like to welcome new students, team up with all of our students and get involved with student life activities that improve the campus and our community. It's always interesting to meet new people."

A 2005 graduate of Raymondville High School, she's the daughter of Richard Patiña and Laila Zaragoza. Her grandparents are Juanita and Vicente Zaragoza and Petra and Ramon Patiña. Ms. TSTC 2008 recalled taking a great interest in cooking and food preparation by fourth grade, doing simple projects like experimenting with French toast. "I've always loved cooking and messing around in the kitchen. There are never ending possibilities with food. You can express yourself through your recipes and the way you prepare food."

She loves to explore a variety of cooking venues, although she isn't fond of baking and she frequently strays from formally printed recipes. Patiña said that she put together spiral notebooks full of her own recipe creations that she regularly modifies.

Her plans are shaping up for furthering her education. She demonstrated a passion for culinary arts, expressed her reasons for choosing the career field, vowed to abide by academic traditions and passed an exam to gain entry into the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin, an affiliate of Le Cordon Bleu in France. Passing 18 months of intensive training, including three months in an internship, would earn her an associate's degree in Culinary Arts from TCA with specialties in business management and computer science.

Patiña will attend TSTC through spring semester 2009 and then transfer to the TCA. After receiving the diploma, she might visit Chicago to seek employment at one of the city's many fivestar restaurants.. She's not sure if her career path could lead to restaurant ownership, the formal title of chef or a catering business. There is much experience to gain and more recipes to collect, modify and create before she settles on her career goal.