Attention 8th, 9th and 10th graders!

Are you interested in Engineering, Machining or Welding?

Do you want to earn 3 FREE college credits?

The Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES (W-FL BOCES), Finger Lakes Community College and Linton Crystal Technologies are partnering this summer to provide current 8-10th graders a FREE 3-week opportunity to experience first-hand advanced manufacturing skills while earning college credits! Students will also have the opportunity to earn OSHA 10 certification. OSHA 10-hour training provides basic training about common safety and health hazards on the job. Students must provide their own lunch and transportation to and from the Wayne Technical and Career Center, 4440 Ridge Road, Williamson, NY 14589.

Contact Erin.Fairben@wflboces.org for more information.

Please register by Friday, June 3, 2022 at www.wflboces.org/same

Seating is limited.

Must be a county resident of Ontario, Seneca, Wayne or Yates

Three students in the Culinary Arts program at Wayne Technical and Career Center recently attended a culinary competition at Monroe Community College, and while they were competing for first place, their generosity is what truly stood out.

The first-place finisher was set to receive $750, second place $500 and third place $250; all prize money being paid in MCC scholarship funds. The competition was open to all High School culinary students, with each school allowed to send three.

With eight students interested and only three students allowed to enter the competition, the Culinary Arts program had to host their own in-house competition to determine who would be sent. The three that attended were Gregory Prober and Julia Friedman, both from Palmyra-Macedon Central School District, and Donovan Pierson from Sodus Central School District.

It was a very competitive cook-off with only a three-point difference in scores for the top five finishers, and a less than one-point difference for the top three. All three of the Wayne Technical and Career Center students finished in the top five, with Gregory placing second and Julia placing third.

While winning was the overall goal, it was Gregory and Julia’s generous act after the competition that truly made them winners. After the finishers had been announced, Gregory and Julia pulled their Culinary Arts Instructor, Brian Mattice, aside and told him that they wanted to donate their winnings to a competitor from a different school who planned to attend Monroe Community College in the Fall.

Mattice teaches the Culinary Arts program alongside Brad Yearwood, and both noted how proud they are of their students. “It was an incredibly generous act by Gregory and Julia,” said Mattice. “It made us feel a great deal of pride.”

For Gregory and Julia, their act of kindness was a defining moment of the competition. Winning was simply the icing on the cake.

Students interviewed in March with multiple manufacturing companies. Students were then matched with an advanced manufacturing company by the Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program directed by Richard Turner, Director of Workforce Development-Rochester Technology & Manufacturing Association (RTMA) and Michael Smith, Apprenticeship Coordinator-Monroe Community College.  Students were offered various work experience opportunities including shadowing experiences, non-paid co-ops and paid co-ops.

Students who participated are:

Gage Abert, Gananda High School-Optimax

Ethan Blanchard, Red Creek High School-Baldwin Richardson Foods Company

Cameron Caimano, Gananda High School-Optimax

Giorgio Catanzaro, Gananda High School-Advanced Atomization Technologies

Adriana Lanseer, Williamson High School-Peak Fabrications/OptiPro Systems, LLC

Alexander Ransco, Newark High School-Baldwin Richardson Foods Company

Antonio Rivera, Newark High School-Optimax

Austin Smith, North Rose-Wolcott-Weco Manufacturing

The instructors for the AME program are Jason Johnston, Kelly Paladino and Keith Rotach.

For more information on the Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship program, visit https://fingerlakesyouthapprenticeship.org/