A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin County Community College District. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.599.3142. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: Oct. 10 All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be emailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, campus correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Tatiana Shehadeh, special contributor; Nick Young, photography and layout
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Collin graduate becomes 'The Body Listener'
By Sydney Portilla-Diggs
Campus Correspondent
You have probably seen the film “The Horse Whisperer” or watched the television show “Ghost Whisperer” but have you heard of the Body Listener? That is what 2006 Collin graduate Sonita Oliver calls herself.
“I want to help sick and obese children learn how to eat well and listen to their body.” Oliver explains. Chef Sonita Oliver, former personal chef for many Hollywood celebrities, is a 67-year-old mother and grandmother of three. However, you won’t catch her doing any stereotypical senior-citizen thing; Chef Oliver is more likely to be dancing while cooking her healthy and uniquely flavored dishes. Her zeal and energy are noticeable to everyone who know her. She is often asked to share the recipe of her great energy.
For Chef Oliver, it is about healthy cooking and eating. Collin’s Hospitality and Food Service Management Chair Karen Musa believes that
“[Sonita Oliver] is truly an inspiration. I think what impressed me the most about Sonia is the fact that she still has dreams of success. She has a strong desire to do something great and has more energy than most 20 year olds. In addition, she is a very optimistic and caring individual. I hope I have her energy and ‘go get ‘em’ attitude when I reach her age.”
For more than 10 years, Chef Oliver worked for hundreds of movie stars and directors in Beverly Hills, California, as a personal health chef for many celebrities like Ella Fitzgerald, Sharon Stone, and George Hamilton…just to name a few. Because she signed a confidentiality agreement forbidding her to disclose any personal information, Oliver is hesitant to discuss the times spent in the homes of her rich and famous clients.
However, for Chef Oliver, being a personal health chef was no longer enough. She decided to attend college and become a certified chef in order to blend two careers with her desire to share her experiences of good, healthy eating with her love of young people. Chef Oliver is at her best when she is surrounded by young people.
Many students at Collin have been greatly impacted and influenced by Sonita Oliver’s example as a non traditional student. Chef Oliver acted as a mentor to many of her fellow students in Collin’s culinary arts program. Oliver plans to go on the road and visit schools with a portable kitchen and help kids learn about healthy eating. She is passionate about health. She believes that the way you eat has a lot to do with your health. She thinks the children will feel right at home in her kitchen. With the advice of dieticians and nutritionists in the areas, Chef Oliver plans to wage her own war against obesity. She hopes to fund this ambitious project by hosting charity dinners for many of her former Beverly Hills clients and their friends. One day she hopes to have a show like Martha Stewart or a training video.
Still, Chef Oliver is humble. “I don’t want to loose contact with the [Collin] school staff and friends who are in the culinary area.”
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