KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A local 18-year-old is overcoming difficult obstacles and making a name for herself in the cooking world.
If there's one thing Viridiana Bawcom, who goes by Vidi, loves, it's preparing a home-cooked meal.
"Give me a recipe and I'll make it," Bawcom said.
Her adoptive mother, Donna Bawcom, said Vidi showed an interest in cooking and baking as a little girl.
"Vidi with her little stool, would follow me all over the kitchen going, 'What are we making, what are we making?" Donna Bawcom said.
As it would turn out, Vidi isn't just a good cook, she's an award-winning cook headed for big things.
She recently won first place in a regional and state cooking competition she entered through her cooking club at Staley High School.
"It was pretty unbelievable, I remember not even being able to like walk across the stage, because I was like there is no way this is happening," Vidi said.
Vidi now has the chance to turn up the heat a little more and go for a national title. She has been invited to a national competition in San Diego, California, at the end of June.
In order to be able to go, she must raise $3,500. She has started a GoFundMe page to spread the word.
Her adoptive parents, Rick and Donna Bawcom, couldn't be more proud.
They adopted Vidi as a little girl after she was put into foster care as a meth and alcohol baby and spent 10 days in an intensive care unit.
"We of course wanted to be a blessing to her, taking her into our home, our hearts, our family, but she has been an incredible blessing to us," Rick Bawcom said.
Over the years, Vidi has helped welcome dozens of foster kids into the Bawcoms' home and made them feel part of the family with her cooking.
As she reaches for her own goals in life, she has a message for other kids in foster care.
"If you keep seeing the good, your life will be good," Vidi said.
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