Cocktails - Cooking & Conversation with Chef Val

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What Drives Valerie "Val" Knight?

The story behind the titles, the trauma, the triumph, and the legacy.

People often ask me, “What drives Valerie 'Val' Knight?"

People see the accomplishments. They see the International Chef, the entrepreneur, the executive leader, the PMP, SCM, AWS Certified professional, multiple master's degrees, and now the pursuit of my doctorate. They see success.

What they don't see is the little girl behind those accomplishments.

I have always been the underdog.

Growing up, I struggled academically without understanding why. Years later, I learned that I had dyslexia. At the time, no one understood learning disabilities the way we do today. I wasn't seen as someone who learned differently. I was made to feel like I simply wasn't good enough.

I was told I would never amount to anything.

I was separated from my mother because of abuse while my siblings remained at home. Those experiences could have broken me, but instead, they became the fuel that still drives me today.

Along the way, God placed incredible people in my life who refused to let me give up.

My grandparents, Mayola Belton and Algie Barnett, along with Mr. B and Jimmie Belton, laid the foundation of faith, resilience, discipline, and unconditional love that continues to guide my life. They taught me that character matters, hard work matters, and that where you begin does not determine where you finish.

I was also blessed with extraordinary mentors who became family. Dr. Dorothy Height, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Dr. Bernard and Valerie Hardy, Denise Rouse, my Uncle Roosevelt Belton, John Melton Knight, Lotti Gibson and my dear friend Vickie Isaac all became voices of hope when I couldn't find my own.

They showed me a world beyond my circumstances.

They encouraged me when I was consumed with self doubt.

They embraced me when I was scared, broken, and afraid.

Without those voices, I don't know if I would have won the battle within.

One of the hardest chapters of my life was my struggle with drug use. It wasn't simply about addiction. It was the result of years of abuse, trauma, and believing I wasn't worthy. I carried pain that I didn't know how to release. I spent years hoping and praying that somehow I would finally be enough.

As I began healing, I came to one of the greatest realizations of my life.

I realized that my abuse and my learning challenges were deeply connected.

I had spent years living with the effects of mental, emotional, psychological, and physical abuse while trying to navigate undiagnosed dyslexia. Every day I questioned my intelligence, my worth, and whether I would ever be enough.

The abuse convinced me I wasn't capable.

My dyslexia made me believe I wasn't smart.

Together, they created fear, anxiety, shame, and self doubt that followed me well into adulthood.

But healing gave me clarity.

I discovered that dyslexia was never my weakness.

It was simply the way God wired my mind to think differently.

Once I understood that, I stopped allowing my past to define my future.

Instead, I chose healing over hurt.

Purpose over pain.

Faith over fear.

Today, my story belongs to every abused child searching for hope.

It belongs to every student who has ever been told they weren't smart enough.

It belongs to every survivor who has questioned their worth because of someone else's words or actions.

I will never forget what Dr. Dorothy Height said to me while preparing for the National Council of Negro Women Black Family Reunion.

She looked at me and said,

“You are what greatness is made of."

Those words have stayed with me for decades.

Whenever I questioned myself, I remembered that someone I deeply respected saw greatness in me before I could see it in myself.

So, what drives Valerie "Val" Knight?

It isn't the titles.

It isn't the certifications.

It isn't the degrees.

Although I look forward to the day I earn the title Dr. Valerie Knight, that title will simply represent another milestone in a lifelong journey of perseverance and purpose.

What truly drives me is impact.

I want my life to be living proof that your beginning does not determine your ending.

I want to tell my truth in my own voice without fear or retribution so someone else finds the courage to tell theirs.

If my journey helps one abused child find hope...

If it helps one survivor choose healing over hopelessness...

If it helps one person with dyslexia realize they are brilliant...

If it inspires one person to keep going when life says quit...

Then every obstacle I faced had purpose.

My greatest accomplishment will never be the letters behind my name.

It will be the lives I helped change.

I want my legacy to be written not because of the degrees I earned, the businesses I built, or the stages I stood on, but because I made a lasting difference in the lives of others.

I hope history remembers me as someone who gave hope.

Someone who created opportunities.

Someone who inspired change.

Someone who loved people enough to tell the truth about her own journey.

Every person who poured into my life helped shape the woman I am becoming.

Their belief in me became the foundation upon which I built my future.

Because of them, I found my voice.

Now I use that voice to advocate for abused children, survivors, individuals battling addiction, people with learning disabilities, aspiring entrepreneurs, and anyone who has ever been told they weren't enough.

I am living proof that trauma does not have to become your identity.

Your past does not determine your future.

Your pain can become your purpose.

Your scars can become someone else's survival guide.

I am not defined by what happened to me.

I am defined by what I chose to become.

That is what drives Valerie "Val" Knight.

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