Students Selected to Attend Industry Group's '˜Salute to Excellence'

Two Pennsylvania College of Technology students have been selected to attend the National Restaurant Association's Salute to Excellence, scheduled in Chicago in late May.

The event, scheduled for May 19 during the 88th annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, celebrates the best and brightest in the restaurant and food-service industry by spotlighting esteemed leadership and extraordinary academic accomplishments. It gathers industry leaders, educators and top students from more than 100 restaurant and culinary schools nationwide.

Penn College students Alyssa J. Giedroc, of Howard, and Lynzi K. Green, of Port Matilda, were chosen to attend, following a rigorous selection process by faculty and staff in the college's School of Hospitality.

Giedroc is pursuing associate degrees in baking and pastry arts and culinary arts technology. She plans to earn an associate degree in baking and pastry arts in December 2007 and then pursue a bachelor's degree in technology management at the college while completing her culinary arts technology degree.

A sophomore, Giedroc is a dean's list student and a member of Phi Theta Kappa, an international honor society for two-year college students. To be eligible for membership, a student must earn a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher and maintain a high academic standing throughout his or her enrollment in the two-year program.

Giedroc also played on the college's women's soccer team in 2005 and 2006, and she received the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference Award for Fall 2006. She works in the college's Disability Services office during the week and in the bakery at Weis Market in Bellefonte once a month and regularly when not in classes.

Green, a junior, plans to graduate in May 2008 with a bachelor's degree in culinary arts and systems. She is a dean's list student and has been accepted for a summer internship at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, named the No. 1 resort in North America by readers of Conde Nast Traveler and the "Resort of the Century" by Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report. It has hosted 26 U.S. presidents.

Green was also one of 20 Penn College students interviewed by Levy Restaurants staff and selected to work at the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in early May.

The Salute to Excellence is hosted by the National Restaurant Association and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The daylong event includes a student forum, which features interactive presentations and small-group sessions, and the Salute to Excellence Awards Gala and Banquet. While in Chicago, Giedroc and Green will also have the opportunity to visit other segments of the Hotel-Motel Show.

For more information about the academic programs offered by the School of Hospitality at Penn College, call (570) 327-4505, e-mail or visit online .