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Alumni Engagement

Sarah Lacz, MBA
Vice President of Institutional Advancement

Santa Rita Hall, 1st Floor

Phone: 973-290-4455
slacz@steu.edu

Anne Lanute

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Turning Your Hobby into a Career

A photo of Anne Lanute holding a wooden rolling pin and metal whisk.

Anne Lanute, ‘98, was just eight years old when she first stepped onto SEU’s campus. Her ballet company had rented space at the University, exposing Anne to life at Saint E’s on a routine basis.

“I remember going to my dance lessons and just seeing all the college girls hanging out, having fun,” says Anne. “It was a formative moment for me and I just knew I wanted to have that experience too.”

Despite relocating to Chicago, Anne never forgot about SEU. In fact, when it came time to apply for colleges, Saint Elizabeth University was the first on her list. Anne fell in love with SEU’s supportive faculty and encouraging educational environment that stoked her passion for learning. A self-proclaimed nerd, Anne had to ask for permission to take more classes after completing her psychology degree and ended up earning an individualized major in writing.

“Graduating from SEU was such a big day for me,” explains Anne. “I was the first in my family to go to college because the opportunity just hadn’t been there for anybody else. Being able to plow that road for my family was wonderful.”

While interested in education, Anne’s parents were denied the ability to complete college due to family responsibilities. Her mother had to stop attending nursing school to care for her small children and her father could not sacrifice his career for a degree.

“Earning my degree was a gift to my parents because they felt they missed out on that experience. It was something that meant so much to our entire family,” recalls Anne. “My son is even asking me about colleges and, now that the school’s co-ed, he can have that experience too.”

A perpetual student, Anne has channeled her love of learning into her hobbies and personal interests. She believes that constantly learning introduces people to concepts they never knew they would find fascinating. This curiosity for the world actually led Anne to her career as a pastry chef.

“I wasn’t one of those people who had been baking and cooking my whole life, I would always take the instant cooking dough approach,” says Anne. “But I started baking as a hobby and soon realized I wanted to make it my career.”

After attending culinary school, Anne began working for Auguste Escoffier, an entirely online school of culinary arts that was just opening. A groundbreaking concept at the time, the virtual learning format challenged Anne to reconceptualize teaching and think creatively, a skill she honed at SEU.

“All the teachers at SEU allowed us to be as creative as possible and that’s stuck with me throughout my career,” says Anne, an executive chef for Escoffier. “Teaching virtually required me to utilize that creativity to help students better visualize techniques without me physically being with them.”

While Anne did not pursue a career in psychology or writing, she utilizes interpersonal and professional skills acquired at SEU every single day.