Vegan Finishing School

Is there such a thing? I discovered that, yes, there is.

Imagine attending a school led by a well-known pioneer of the vegan world, a person you admired and respected for years and hoped to meet one day. In the Fall of 2024, I realized this dream when I enrolled in what I consider a vegan finishing school, the Main Street Vegan Academy, founded and facilitated by Victoria Moran.

In the fall of 2000, I adopted a vegan diet. My husband, already vegan when I married him in 1999, inspired me to switch from my mostly-vegetarian diet to a vegan lifestyle in 2000. We raised our kiddo on a vegan diet despite the protests and complaints of well-meaning family members who thought we were crazy. (When we decided to homeschool a few years later, they were sure of it.)

The first time I saw the advertisement for Main Street Vegan Academy in American Vegan Magazine, I felt awed and excited. I had discovered Victoria after reading one of her earlier books, Get the Fat Out, published in 1994, on my mother-in-law's bookshelf.

After exploring the Main Street Vegan website, I read Moran's book, Main Street Vegan. I wish I'd found that book when I first became vegan (it wasn’t published until 2012). But I had the glimmer of an idea: Maybe I could be a vegan coach. Despite being vegan for years, I never felt qualified to respond to people who asked me questions about why I'm vegan or where I get my protein. Plus, I wanted to share veganism with everyone I knew.

Disappointment hit when I saw that the classes were only offered in New York City. As a homeschooling mom with a part-time job as a community college librarian, I couldn’t invest the time or money to attend the program.

I put my dreams aside, instead focusing on my career, homeschooling, and losing the last few pounds of post-pregnancy weight. A few years later, I earned a certificate in plant-based cooking from Forks Over Knives. I participated in Chef AJ’s Ultimate Weight Loss program and learned more about vegan cooking while avoiding sugar, oil, and salt. I explored the animal-rights side of veganism by attending Vegan Toastmasters meetings. 

In 2022, I earned a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and explored the health benefits of a plant-exclusive diet. I already understood the ethical reasons for adopting a vegan lifestyle, but I wanted to learn more. My thoughts returned to the Mainstreet Vegan Academy. Still held in NYC, I couldn't attend due to the cost of travel and the need to take several days off work.

Yet the impossible became possible, thanks to the improvement of virtual meeting technologies such as Zoom. Like many other in-person programs, the Main Street Vegan Academy evolved into a remote program. In the summer of 2024, MSVA offered a two-for-one enrollment special. I decided to invite one of my closest friends, who's the fiercest animal advocate I know.

On September 7, 2024, we attended the first of seven day-long classes. During the program, we explored vegan principles, communication principles, and business principles. At each session, some of the most respected names in plant-based medicine, nutrition, fashion, the environment, and the law inspired and educated us. We learned from vegan entrepreneurs and graduates of the MSVA, who use their Vegan Lifestyle Coach and Educator certificate to share veganism with the world. Victoria and her instructors shared effective coaching methods, how to present cooking demos, how to give in-person and media presentations, and the importance of modeling a vegan lifestyle.

  

Learning from Victoria and her stellar cast of instructors gave me the courage to share my passion for veganism. While I haven't decided exactly how I'll do that, receiving my certificate as a vegan lifestyle coach and educator ranks as one of the most exciting accomplishments of my vegan adventure.