In one kitchen, students chopped onions, julienned peppers and pounded chicken thinly. In another, they baked a chocolate tart crust and sliced strawberries uniformly. Down the hall, they piped icing onto tiered cakes.
In the culinary building at Luzerne County Community College on Thursday, high school students competed in the “Olympics of the trades.”
The school hosted the District 1 SkillsUSA regional competition, the first step to getting to the state or national level.
Across the downtown Nanticoke and main campus, more than 240 students competed in 30 skilled trade and technical contests, including welding, automotive technology, electrical construction, culinary arts and other high-demand career fields.
The annual competition comes as schools see greater demand in their programs, driven by high college costs, workforce demands and government support.
“The career tech students often do not have a way to show their skills and assess how well they're doing and show that competency. So the SkillsUSA program allows them to almost get that recognition that they sometimes lack,” said Susan Spry, LCCC associate vice president of academic affairs. “They're very excited. It's a great time, and the students really get to show off what they know already.”
'Vital' to the industry
Participating schools
Carbon Career & Technical Institute
CTC of Lackawanna County
Delaware Valley High School
Hazleton Area Career Center
Honesdale High School
Johnson College
Susquehanna County Career & Technical Center
Tunkhannock Area High School
Wallenpaupack Area High School
Weatherly High School
West Side Career & Technology Center
Wilkes-Barre Career & Technical Center
Kyle Manfre waited in the hallway, ready to showcase his skills. The senior from West Side Career and Technology Center prepared to compete in the restaurant service category.
He needed to make sure he set the table correctly, remembered the menu and made a good impression.
“I've always felt connected to the culinary industry, and I feel like it's something I want to be part of,” Kyle said.
Kimberly McLendon, a culinary instructor and coordinator of the culinary program at LCCC, called the competition — and the recognition it offers — “vital” to the industry.
“It's helping to establish those leadership skills, but also making sure that the students know exactly how to execute a meal, or know the proper sanitation skills and the proper technique, the knife skills, the knife cuts,” McLendon said. “We're really trying to bring in more students into the program, because the industry is just growing so vastly.”
Real-life experiences
Down East Main Street in Nanticoke, another group of students competed in the school’s health sciences center.
McKenna Ives, from the Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County and North Pocono, and Jolene Booth, from the Wilkes-Barre Area Career & Technical Center and Hanover Area, competed in nurse assisting.
As seniors, both learn through co-op programs at Geisinger hospitals, instead of attending their technical school daily. Both spoke of the value of the education they receive beyond the traditional high school setting.
“If you ever get the chance to do co-op, do it,” said Jolene, who hopes to become a NICU nurse.
McKenna hopes to become a physician assistant. The skills tested on Thursday are skills she uses daily at her co-op. She called the experience at her CTC important to her future.
“It's definitely helpful. It gives you the real world perspective of things, not things that your teachers are just telling you,” she said. “As a high schooler, it's pretty cool. I know a lot of my friends who didn't go to a CTC, they're jealous. They're like, ‘I wish I went there.’”
