Denis Flaschner came to Ohio University as a first-year English major in 2000. Seeking an intensive experience, he transferred to the Honors Tutorial College (HTC) as a sophomore, where he completed all his coursework with one exception: to graduate, he would need to complete a thesis project.
After leaving Athens, Flaschner moved around the country, building a career as a chef in commercial kitchens. He settled in San Francisco in 2014, but he hadn’t forgotten about that honor’s thesis.
“It was always somewhat hanging in the back of my mind,” Flaschner said. “Like, someday you're going to stop working in the kitchen and maybe you'll finish.”