{"id":241499,"date":"2026-07-12T09:09:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T09:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/241499\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T09:09:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T09:09:17","slug":"recipe-for-connection-university-of-scranton-speech-language-pathology-students-lead-inclusive-cooking-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/241499\/","title":{"rendered":"Recipe for connection: University of Scranton speech-language pathology students lead inclusive cooking classes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whisks clanked against mixing bowls. Participants spontaneously broke into song while they worked.<\/p>\n

Karen Hughes watched her 34-year-old daughter Heather Hughes while she poured batter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a proud mom. Every cooking class she’s at, I\u2019m taking pictures,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"University<\/p>\n

University of Scranton speech-language pathology students instructed a cooking class to make red, white and blue pancakes. <\/p>\n

Flour stuck to cheeks and tables while food dye stained fingers at an inclusive cooking class for people with disabilities that the mother-daughter duo attended at Coffee Inclusive in downtown Pittston earlier this month.<\/p>\n

The class, in observance of America\u2019s 250th birthday, taught participants how to bake red, white and blue pancakes while sipping on a festive drink, complete with a star-shaped straw.<\/p>\n

The students in the University of Scranton\u2019s distance speech-language pathology master’s program, which started in 2023, led the classes on four Wednesday evenings this summer. The students just finished their first year of the two-year program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis partnership with Coffee Inclusive aligns with the university’s mission, which is to align their academic coursework with service to the community. Our students are able to work on communication skills in a fun setting, like a cooking group, like tonight,\u201d said Tara Carito, the program\u2019s clinical education coordinator.<\/p>\n

While they take their classes remotely, the students came together for three weeks in Scranton to gain clinical experience at the Waverly Community House, the Scranton School of the Deaf and Coffee Inclusive.<\/p>\n

\n 1 of 3
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a007012026_Coffee008.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Alex Clark tries a Fourth of July themed drink he made during the cooking class. <\/p>\n

Aimee Dilger \/ WVIA News <\/p>\n

\n 2 of 3
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a007012026_Coffee015.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Aiden Thomas tries his patriotic drink. <\/p>\n

Aimee Dilger \/ WVIA News <\/p>\n

\n 3 of 3
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a007012026_Coffee004.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Aiden Thomas listens to cooking instructions before whisking batter for pancakes. <\/p>\n

Aimee Dilger \/ WVIA News <\/p>\n

Getting hands-on experience<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we can go ahead and start mixing the batter,\u201d graduate student Julia Gallo shouted.<\/p>\n

She walked participants through every step of the pancake process, observing as the class followed her lead, scooping flour, mixing in water and food dye and finally, putting the batter into a baking sheet.<\/p>\n

\"Abby<\/p>\n

Abby Walsh and Julia Gallo of the University of Scranton prepare pancakes with a red, white and blue theme. <\/p>\n

Gallo led one other inclusive cooking class and jumped at the opportunity to return. She appreciated the chance to apply what she\u2019s learned in her first year of speech-language pathology school.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince everybody communicates differently, some people may not verbally communicate, so we include gestures or visuals,\u201d she said. \u201cSome may use sign language, so we incorporate that. We try to get everybody to communicate with each other. Everybody does communicate differently, so it’s nice to get them all intertwined.\u201d<\/p>\n

The clinical experience at Coffee Inclusive differed from the other programs the cohort worked with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re with kids during the day, so it’s really cool to come and work with adults,\u201d graduate student Brenna Diehl said. \u201cWe’re seeing all of our peers’ talents and passions shine, and so it’s cool to see just how well everybody’s getting along with each other, and the people we’re working with, and just seeing them thrive in this environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n 1 of 9
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a007012026_Coffee001.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Brian Boston of Coffee Inclusive gives some quick instructions at the start of the cooking class. <\/p>\n

Aimee Dilger \/ WVIA News <\/p>\n

\n 2 of 9
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a007012026_Coffee002.jpg\n <\/p>\n

University of Scranton student Julia Gallo speaks to those attending the Coffee Inclusive Fourth of July themed cooking class. <\/p>\n

Aimee Dilger \/ WVIA News<\/p>\n

\n 3 of 9
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a007012026_Coffee005.jpg\n <\/p>\n

The group does some improptu karaoke before baking the pancakes. <\/p>\n

Aimee Dilger \/ WVIA News <\/p>\n

\n 4 of 9
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a007012026_Coffee006.jpg\n <\/p>\n

University student Emily Squires jokes while helping make pancake batter. <\/p>\n

Aimee Dilger \/ WVIA News <\/p>\n

\n 5 of 9
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a007012026_Coffee010.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Paige Hennigan measures the pancake mix. <\/p>\n

Aimee Dilger \/ WVIA News <\/p>\n

\n 6 of 9
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a007012026_Coffee009.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Devon Ransom readies to bake by washing up. <\/p>\n

Aimee Dilger \/ WVIA News <\/p>\n

\n 7 of 9
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a007012026_Coffee016.jpg\n <\/p>\n

University of Scranton student Julia Gallo speaks to those attending the coffee inclusive Fourth of July themed cooking class.<\/p>\n

Aimee Dilger \/ WVIA News <\/p>\n

\n 8 of 9
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a007012026_Coffee017.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Cooking class participants raise their hands to show they are wearing gloves. <\/p>\n

Aimee Dilger \/ WVIA News <\/p>\n

\n 9 of 9
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a007012026_Coffee018.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Nick Moulderk, Amanda Hernandez, Brenna Diehl, Emily Squires, Gailey and Heather Hughes prepare to make pancakes. <\/p>\n

Aimee Dilger \/ WVIA News <\/p>\n

Building confidence and independence<\/p>\n

The students gained new skills and even confidence in their own abilities in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

Heather Hughes said she enjoys the classes and bringing her new skills home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like doing things at the house. When I go home after I get out on of day program, I try to make stuff at the house,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her mother said she\u2019s started cooking her own breakfast since coming to class. Heather said she cooks for her mother and brothers too.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe’s learning a lot how to cook at home now, and do things that she didn’t know what to do,\u201d Karen Hughes said.<\/p>\n

The best part of her daughter\u2019s participation in the classes?<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, her happiness,\u201d Hughes said. But they also give her reassurance as a mom.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know she knows how to do things when I\u2019m not around,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\"Heather<\/p>\n

Heather Hughes (left) and her mother Karen Hughes attended the inclusive cooking class.<\/p>\n

Heather Hughes made friends with Brian Boston, her fellow barista at Coffee Inclusive and the resident chef.<\/p>\n

\"Brian<\/p>\n

Brian Boston checks the pancakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith my disability, which I have ADHD, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to become a police officer, so I decided to become a chef to help people instead,\u201d Boston said.<\/p>\n

He holds a culinary degree from Luzerne County Community College. He likes seeing the participants grow with each class.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey keep on coming back. I know they’ve learned. At one point, I had a student who would walk with the knife in his hand. He doesn’t do that any more. So, they’ve learned skills,\u201d Boston said.<\/p>\n

Boston will offer his own inclusive cooking classes at Coffee Inclusive on the first Wednesday of every month from 5:30 to 7 p.m. for 18 months starting in August.<\/p>\n

And, another Coffee Inclusive location will open at United Neighborhood Centers’ CEDAR Center in South Scranton this September.<\/p>\n

Class ended with each participant receiving a recipe book featuring all the recipes from the classes. The chefs-in-training cheered, clapped and laughed with friends made in the class as they sampled their red, white and blue pancakes while sipping on their patriotic drink, made of blue gatorade, sprite and cherry juice.<\/p>\n

Gallo looked fondly at the class she just led, offering high fives and hugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny community, everybody experiences different hardships, and it’s definitely important to have in every community. It just really brings everybody together and includes everybody in the community, no matter what they experience,\u201d Gallo said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whisks clanked against mixing bowls. Participants spontaneously broke into song while they worked. Karen Hughes watched her 34-year-old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":241500,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":["post-241499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}