I had lunch with alumna Vanessa Matlin last week, and she presented me with an autographed copy of her Gloriously Gluten-Free cookbook. The inscription read:

“Dear Dean Barratt,

I truly owe all of my success with this book to the inspiring professors I had during my time at GW. I only hope I can give back to future students as much as I was given during my time at GW. Enjoy the recipes.”

It was so gratifying to read and hear about how her 2005 BA in Journalism helped jumpstart her successful career as a writer. In addition to the cookbook, Vanessa is the author of the Beyond Rice Cakes: A Young Person’s Guide to Cooking, Eating & Living Gluten-Free, and she is the food and lifestyle editor of Delight Gluten-Free magazine. Her website, Celiac Princess, is devoted to educating people about Celiac Disease and full of helpful information and gluten-free recipes. A strong advocate for people with gluten-intolerance, Vanessa spent seven months in culinary school to learn and to increase knowledge of nutrition and food allergies in the culinary profession.