Congratulations to Christie Parks, culinary arts instructor at Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center in New Stanton, PA, on being awarded Pennsylvania's ProStart Educator of Excellence for 2019.

The ProStart Educator of Excellence Awards (EEA) recognize educators who demonstrate excellence in the classroom and passion, commitment and creativity in all aspects of the ProStart program to help their students make the most of the opportunities that ProStart offers. Their stories inspire ProStart educators and supporters in our state and across the globe.

Christie was recognized for her award at the state level during the Pennsylvania ProStart Invitational in State College, PA on February 27th of this year. Christie also received recognition nationally, at the National ProStart Invitational in Washington, D.C. on May 10th, 2019. Congratulations Christie, and keep up the great work!

Culinary and restaurant management students from the Milton Hershey School traveled to Washington, D.C. May 8th-10th to compete at the 2019 National ProStart Invitational (#NPSI2019). After taking first place in both culinary and management competitions at the Pennsylvania ProStart Invitational in February, these students moved on to put their skills to the test against other top teams from across the United States. 

Management Competition
Milton Hershey's management team, consisting of students Kenny Carpio-Lazo, Portia Cruz, and Davan Hanley, presented their original restaurant concept for "Good to Go"—a quick service airport restaurant offering made-to-order smoothies and healthy meal and snack options for travelers on the move. During seven rounds of judging, the students pitched their proposal to industry professionals, answering critical-thinking questions regarding restaurant management, marketing, and operations.

We are proud of our management team for placing 20th out of 42 teams, and culinary for placing 14th out of 46 teams. Great job to these students for putting out an excellent effort and representing Pennsylvania well! Take a look at our photo album here to view more snapshots from #NPSI2019.