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With mock hotel rooms and student-run cafes, Culinary Academy of Las Vegas unlocks career paths

Saturday, August 22, 2026 10:38 AM
Image aggregated from Vegas Inc..
  • Katie Ann McCarver, Vegas Inc.

When Yahirra Vasquez graduated from high school, she felt lost — until she discovered the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas, a workforce-development hub training people for careers across the hospitality industry.

“This program was maybe like the perfect fit for me,” Vasquez said. “It was super accessible outside of school. … Directly out of high school, kids tend to feel a little bit lost. And even after that first year of being out of high school, a lot of people don’t know where to find accessible learning and knowledge.”

Vasquez in August completed the Culinary Academy’s three-week barista and fountain worker program, where she learned all things coffee, customer service and more.