Culinary Arts Students Chosen for Salute to Excellence Tribute
Friday, May 23, 2008
Two Pennsylvania College of Technology students were selected to attend the National Restaurant Association's Salute to Excellence, held in Chicago on May 17.
The event took place during the 89th annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, which gathers industry leaders, educators and top students from more than 100 restaurant and culinary schools nationwide.
Penn College students Erin E. Brown, of Lock Haven, and Mark R. Capellazzi, of Rochester, N.Y., were chosen to attend, following a rigorous selection process by faculty and staff in the college's School of Hospitality. Both students are entering their senior year, pursuing bachelor's degrees in culinary arts and systems. Both also are Penn College student ambassadors, assisting with college tours and events.
Brown was selected to represent Penn College on the Keystone Central School District's Culinary Arts Advisory Board. In that position, she speaks about and demonstrates food art and cake-decorating for the high school culinary classes.
During the 2007-08 academic year, Capellazzi served as chairperson of the Wildcat Events Board, a student-run organization dedicated to providing educational and social programs for the Penn College community. He was recently named one of two recipients of the $500 Student Leader Legacy Scholarship for the upcoming academic year. The scholarship is funded by students to continue a tradition of campus leadership at the college.
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, Brown and Capellazzi also visited other segments of the Hotel-Motel Show.
For more information about the academic programs offered by the School of Hospitality at Penn College, visit online , e-mail or call (570) 327-4505.