The People

The nicknames...well, due to the number of people I have to name and not knowing them all that well, they're lacking in creativity.
Let's start at my table:
Irish: she's around 50, very recent transplant from North Carolina - apparently she just signed a separation agreement with her husband and she packed up her house and moved to Chicago right before the program started. She has two kids (in their 20s) and is extraordinarily generous and nice to everyone. Plus, she's hilarious. And we're all benefitting from the alimony her ceo ex is paying...
Tennessee: she just graduated from UofI with a marketing degree - she will start her position with General Mills in March, in their bakery goods sales division. She eventually wants to open her own bakery. She and Irish carpool together, and are very close.
T.: he quit his business position in order to attend this program. He really wants to work in a kitchen when he's done. He's about 30, I think? Really really nice. And gets it - he's a really good cook.
Russia: She's not really Russian, it's just a nickname Chef K gave her. She is taking a semester off from college in New York to attend this program. She wants to be a food writer. She and T are really good buddies.
Rico: She immigrated from Puerto Rico when she was a kid, but has this really cool trace of an accent. Rico is in a very happy year-long relationship with her girlfriend, and they're the ones that took us to the club last week. She's an assistant manager at Starbucks near the Tribune offices, and wants to work in bar's restaurant when she's done.
Nemo: Man, I love this guy. He's 25, but we graduated the same year. He does web design for my favorite newspaper. His dad owned a Chinese restaurant, but is retired now. He may want to do a career change, but maybe not. He told me last night he's looking forward to me going back to work full-time so I can join his world of exhaustion.

Other people I like:
Shorty: This is the girl who just graduated from high school. Feisty. She is struggling under Chef B - she does not take lightly to people treating her with disrespect. She has a really interesting background - she is half Mexican and half Japanese, and she does speak Spanish, but she told me she wasn't welcomed by the Hispanic community growing up. Her fiance is currently on his externship, and she wants to work in an Italian restaurant.
Master: I swear this woman has had every job possible, and I think she's just over 30. She's very generous - she brought all the girls mini-whisks at the end of the first session. She has two very young children, and made extra pasta to take home to her husband. She wants to open her own restaurant, so she takes lots of notes and video on the kitchen process.

Okay, that's enough description for now. The rest are either people I don't know much about or I am not a big fan of. I can't decide if I want to describe the people I don't like yet, or just wait until they actually end up playing a role... I'll wait for now.