At ISU, the futures for students are broad and bright. With many different majors and areas of study, most students know exactly what they will be doing after they graduate. For ISU graduate Kara Sigle, her future may be in hosting her very own Food Network television program.

Sigle, who graduated in 2003, was a member of the Redline Express dance team and later went on to become a Gold Rush cheerleader for the San Francisco 49ers. She graduated from Kendall College of Culinary Arts and became the president and founder of Nostalgic Catering in 2007.

“Kara traveled throughout Europe and the Middle East a couple of times and brought home a lot of great recipes and business ideas,” John Sigle, Kara’s father, said.

For John, the journey that Kara has undergone has made him proud of his daughter.

“It certainly was departure from the ISU days where the dancers and Big Red Marching Machine would gather at mid-field to sing the alma mater or the ISU fight song. I am sure she missed those moments,” John said.

Kara’s passion for cooking involves her other passion: exercise.

“Because of her passion for working out, Kara appeared in the Jockey 2010 Real Athletes ad campaign. For recreation, Kara plays volleyball, flag football, and baseball along the lake front, and devotes a considerable amount of time with the Chicago Cares Charity Program and other non-profit organizations,” John said.

Kara is competing against 14  other finalists to be on the eighth season of “Food Network Star.” If Kara wins the weekly challenges on the show, she will go on to headline her own Food Network show.

Past winners of the show include Guy Fieri, Aason McCargo Jr., Melissa d’Arabian, and Aarti Sequeria.

So far, Kara has received positive feedback from clients and is a natural performer and fierce competitor.

Fans of Kara can vote for her as their top pick at foodnetwork.com/star.

“I hope the entire campus blasts onto the Food Network site to overload it with votes for Kara until the show premieres on May 13,” John said.

The show will air on the Food Network Channel at 8 p.m. on Sundays.