Blog Post: Ask the Alum: Mary Lynn Vickers

Name:

What is your favorite part of your current job? 
I have always looked for jobs that provide independence, variety, opportunities to create and organize, plus the freedom to express my own imprint on each project. As the owner of my personal chef business, all of these threads are woven into my daily life.

What career path did you follow from your ASU degree to your present job?
 I have had several careers since leaving ASU. The technical background
received there has been extremely helpful in each career and all throughout all my life’s activities.

After graduation from ASU, I moved to Los Angeles and worked in several chemical labs, doing a variety of human and animal tissue analytical tests. That became boring after a couple of years.  Since I liked to do research and reading, UCLA was my next destination for a Masters in Library Science, which created a several-year stint as the chemical librarian at Shell Development in Torrance, Calif.

Life moved me to Connecticut and then Rochester, New York, where I experimented with various jobs and then decided on a career at Eastman Kodak as an industrial engineer. Kodak trained me well – I call it the "University of Kodak" – since training was generously given to allow me to meet and solve the challenges of the workplace.  Some of my positions were managing a quality control unit, teaching interactive search techniques in toxicology, project management and managing a specifications writing group.

I began the Phantom Chef Personal Chef Service in 2002. I almost named my business “The Kitchen Chemist,” but my circle of friends who were helping me name it said NO, that would make potential clients wonder what kinds of chemicals are being put in their dinners. So “The Phantom Chef” was born.  It's a phantom because I cook in your kitchen while you are away at work, and the only evidence that I have been there is the lovely aromas in your kitchen when you get home plus a refrigerator and freezer full of healthy and nutritious meals. 

Describe one skill learned at ASU that you use daily in your job.
There are so many life skills acquired at ASU – from time management to monitoring chemical experiments.  These two skills help me every day in running my business: the project and time management to juggle client needs and schedule, plus the reactions I conduct every day in client kitchens. After all, what is cooking but kitchen chemistry?

Were any ASU-affiliated persons helpful to you in advancing your career?
All of my instructors and professors were helpful when I asked. Students should know to go and ask for help and advice, that's what the university is all about. 

What advice would you give to current students or job-seekers about finding work in your field?If you are interested in being a personal chef, it’s a relatively young career that celebrated its 15th anniversary last year. You can go to the United States Personal Chef Web site at www.uspca.com for information and a video about a “day in the life” of a personal chef.