The 10th annual 'Chefs for Success' gala will be held at Schenectady County Community College next week. Proceeds benefit students in the school's culinary program.

One alumna got her big break in the cooking industry thanks to that very event.

Joan Dembinski, 81, retired from a long career in the pharmaceutical industry in 2008 to pursue her passion for cooking. Dembinski enrolled in SCCC's culinary program. She attended the inaugural "Chefs for Success' event as a student and left with a job at Yono's, one of Albany's top restaurants.

“I walked into the restaurant, just to speak to Chef Purnomo, to help them with the Chefs for Success program, and I was hired on the spot," she said.

Dembinski added that it's never too late to reinvent yourself, adding retirement is "out of style."