[music]
>> ALICE: Hello there, Nathaniel.
>> NATHANIEL: How are you doing today Alice?
>> ALICE: I'm doing good.
>> NATHANIEL: Oh that's wonderful. Come on in. What would you like to cook today?
>> ALICE: I'd like to make perogies.
>> NATHANIEL: Perogies, okay.
[music]
[freezer opens and closes]
[pouring food into pot]
>> NATHANIEL: Oh wonderful.
[lid closes pot full of perogies]
>> ALICE: I cook with Monique, mostly, on Sundays. And sometimes she teaches me how to make home made food - like sauce. And stuff like that. I picked meals that I like to make. And my worker, Nathaniel, will come up with a meal plan. The residents each pick food that they want to make, and the staff supports them. 
>> NATHANIEL: Why are we preparing two dishes? 
<< ALICE: One bowl is for people with cheese, and one bowl is for people without cheese. My grandma was a really good cook. But I never learned to cook before. She was a vegetarian and cooked very healthy meals. But my grandpa would take me out for fast food. So I had the best of both worlds.
[music]
[intertitle 2: Alice came to Collegeview five years ago]
>> NATHANIEL: What were some of the challenges you faced when you joined the program?
>> ALICE: I didn't want to go out anywhere. At that time, I didn't want to cook. My grandparents passed away and I was grieving over them. 
[music]
>> ALICE: I guess I never learned how to cook, so now it makes me feel happy that other people enjoy what I cook. 
[intertitle 3: five years later...]
>> NATHANIEL: Where are you at? How do you feel right now?
>> ALICE: I feel very happy and motivated. I'm achieving new goals and I take it one day at a time. 
>> NATHANIEL: What I have noticed lately, is that you are now coming over to the main table to join your peers at dinner time. 
>> ALICE: I always ask them how their day was, what did they do today, and how they're doing. 
[music]
>> COLLEGEVIEW RESIDENT: It's really good!
>> ALICE: Thank you. I made the perogies.
>> COLLEGEVIEW RESIDENT: I think the best dish you ever made was the pizza muffins. Those were amazing.
>> ALICE: Oh okay.
[music]
>> ALICE: I try to live my life because I know they are looking down on me and are proud of me.
>> NATHANIEL: We're excited for you, thank you Alice.
[outro music]
[intertitle 4: Alice also enjoys connecting with her outside community. She volunteers with Theatre Passe Muraille and is starting a new position at the Cancer Society.]