By: Naiia Lajoie   Some sugar, a little spice, and a heaping dash of nice – these ingredients come together in the perfect culinary culmination, but not in the form of a puff pastry. Rather an aspiring pastry chef. Alyssa Sandra Guevara is a fulltime student at Long Beach City College where she is currently pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Baking and Pastry Arts. The school’s website touts, “The Baking and Pastry Arts program provides students with the fundamental knowledge of Baking and Pastry principles and techniques to prepare our graduates for employment in Retail, Hotel, and Resort Bakery and Pastry kitchens”. In pursing this degree Alyssa is preparing herself for a career path that may potentially lead to airline catering, convention center and cruise line menus, supermarket sales, as well as restaurant, institutional, and hotel-type food operations. To get where she is now has not been a cakewalk though; it took grit, strength, and stepping-out of her kitchen & comfort zone. THE SUGAR Alyssa is the daughter of immigrant parents who came to the United States from the Philippines. Her father resided in Naic, a municipality in the province of Cavite, while her mother is from Manila. During high school, Alyssa was highly involved in an organization called Key Club, a student-led nonprofit. The club focuses on teaching and spreading four core values: leadership, character-building, caring, and inclusiveness. With her fellow members, they would often participate in community service through volunteer work. Her propensity for helping others is likely what lead to her next endeavor. THE SPICE In 2017 Alyssa was discovered by the producers of MPUSA (Miss Philippines USA). In her they saw great potential and ultimately convinced her to join the pageant. It was during this first-ever pageant of hers that she...... Read more on Full Issue!