Megan Jacob, (left) a senior at North Rockland High School and a CTEC Culinary Arts student, won first place in the culinary arts event  for seniors, and Rachel Mongiovi, (right) who is also a senior at North Rockland, was awarded second place in the First Aid/CPR category at the New York State Skills USA Competition in Syracuse, April 9-11.  Twenty CTEC students traveled to Syracuse for this annual competition.

Ms. Jacob outscored nearly 40 students from across New York to win the state title from SkillsUSA, a national organization for career and technical students.

The students competed against their peers, testing their technical and professional skills through hands-on and written contests.

Ms. Jacob says that she had a good level of confidence, since this was her second time in this specific competition.  “I remembered last year, and knew if I was going to do well, I had to be prepared, and so I was very prepared.” Competitors in this category are judged on mise en place, sanitation, taste and presentation.

Ms. Jacob plans to attend the Culinary Institute of America, but before that she has one more important test of her culinary skills; she is sitting for the American Culinary Federation Certification.

Rachel Mongiovi competed against more than 20 of her peers, but felt confident all the way through the First Aid/CPR competition, since she is both a volunteer firefighter and volunteers for the ambulance corps in Haverstraw. This competition has students performing CPR, and assisting patients with fractures and serious wounds.  Ms. Mongioivi plans on attending Morrisville College to pursue nursing.

SkillsUSA is a national organization serving more than 264,000 high school and college students and professional members who are enrolled in training programs in technical, skilled, and service occupations, including health occupations by providing quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development