UPMC Western Maryland’s Michael “Mike” Fazenbaker is a full-time Food and Nutrition Supervisor and a part-time ACM culinary arts student.
How an apprenticeship program builds on Fazenbaker's love of helping others
CUMBERLAND, Md. — February 14, 2025 — UPMC’s Michael “Mike” Fazenbaker is ‘all business’ in a college classroom at Allegany College of Maryland (ACM). With a strong work ethic and a 4.0 GPA, he’s a role model for students of all ages. He’s also a model apprentice for the Maryland Department of Labor (Maryland Labor).
Fazenbaker is part of Maryland’s Hospitality Management Registered Apprenticeship
program. As an apprentice, he is a part-time culinary arts student at ACM and a full-time Food and Nutrition Services Supervisor at UPMC Western Maryland. His classroom instruction and on-the-job learning
are eligible to be subsidized by Maryland Labor. In three years, Fazenbaker will earn
an associate degree in culinary arts from ACM.
His path to college began with a return home.
Fazenbaker is a Cumberland native who entered the hospitality industry after graduating from Fort Hill High School. He worked at the Corner Cafe and Boardwalk Fries before moving to Ocean City. After a year, he moved to Myrtle Beach to work as a cook and kitchen manager for 14 years. He returned to Cumberland and accepted a position as a Retail Supervisor at UPMC Western Maryland in 2009.
Fazenbaker struggled after losing a loved one, but a coworker, Skye Symons, helped him find his way. “I call her my angel, she changed my life,” said Fazenbaker.
The experience deepened Fazenbaker’s commitment to helping others. “You don’t realize the impact you can have,” said Fazenbaker. “I really like helping people, and people go through a lot here. When we cook, we offer comfort.”
Symons and Fazenbaker continue to work together but now in their home kitchen. The couple married in 2021, and Symons is now Peace Healthcare’s District Manager of Food and Nutrition Services.
She’s also a 2010 graduate of ACM’s culinary arts program. “She’s been encouraging me to enroll at ACM for years,” Fazenbaker said.
His talent garnered attention.
When Kristin Wilkins joined UPMC Western Maryland as the Director of Food and Nutrition Services in 2019, she quickly recognized Fazenbaker’s work ethic and caring demeanor. She began discussing how to grow his career.
“He’s talented. We have worked in growing Mike in his supervisory role. He has gained more responsibilities and cross trained in other areas.” Wilkins said.
David “Dave” Sanford, who directs ACM’s culinary arts program, saw Fazenbaker’s talent
on display when he visited him in the bustling kitchen at UPMC. “Mike has surrounded
himself with good people. He knows how and where to use people’s strengths,” said
Sanford.
That knowledge is critically important in a large healthcare setting, explained Sanford.
According to Wilkins, her employees serve 1,600 people each day. In a year’s time,
that’s 584,000 individuals (about half the population of Hawaii).
“It was the right program.”
Wilkins first learned about the Hospitality Management Registered Apprenticeship program in the fall of 2023 from ACM’s Sanford and Debra Swope, program director of
the School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts. She instantly thought of Fazenbaker.
“It was the right program to build on Mike’s strengths,” said Wilkins. She planted
the seed with her team and shared information about the program with the hospital’s
executive leadership, who responded within minutes. With their blessing, Wilkins navigated
the approval process and UPMC became a local business partner in the apprenticeship
program.
As program business partners, companies are eligible to receive incentives from the
State of Maryland, including the Maryland Apprenticeship Tax Credit, a Sponsor Apprentice
Incentive Reimbursement (SAIR), and a Maryland Business Works grant. The incentives
can offset the costs of in-class instruction (college tuition) and subsidize on-the-job
learning.
“The apprenticeship program builds a pathway to higher-paying positions and helps
companies retain their employees,” said Courtney Love, who coordinates the Maryland
Department of Labor’s apprenticeship program for ACM. “This is exactly what we expect
to see for Mike at UPMC.”
Fazenbaker is taking two courses at Allegany College of Maryland this semester: Food
and Beverage Cost Control and Beverage Management. With each course, he moves one
step closer to achieving his goals.
Connect
To reach ACM's Courtney Love, please email clovecooper@allegany.edu or call 301-784-5407.
The College is a registered apprenticeship sponsor for the Maryland Hospitality Management Apprenticeship Program through the Maryland Department of Labor.