Graduate wins $$ for culinary school

PAYSON — Monahan Graymountain graduated from Payson High School recently with a scholarship few get and many envy.

After taking a college-credit cooking class at the Nebo Learning Center in Springville, Graymountain, 19, applied for and received a $35,000 scholarship to the culinary arts college at the Art Institute of California.

"He's always wanted to be a chef, and it looks like he's well on his way," said Linda Blackham, his cooking instructor. "We're thrilled to death about it."

Winning the scholarship was easier than scrambling eggs. All he did was enter a culinary contest, which included submitting a menu and an essay. It took him just a day to throw it together, he said. "It about floored me," Graymountain's mother said.

However, the scholarship covers just half of his tuition fees. The scholarship is for all three years of the program. He is now working to raise the other half of his tuition.

Looking forward, Graymountain said he'd like to work on a cruise ship for a year or two after graduating from AIC and then open his own restaurant.

Cooking isn't new for the Native American. He's been cooking since he was 10. His grandmother in Arizona taught him how, and he has taken cooking classes every year since ninth grade.