Students Chosen for Restaurant Industry's 'Salute to Excellence'
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Two students from Pennsylvania College of Technology's School of Hospitality will be honored in a "Salute to Excellence" program sponsored by a national trade association.
Through a rigorous selection process, School of Hospitality faculty chose Rachel S. Hall, of Altoona, and Lesa C. Weaver, of Milesburg, both seniors in the culinary arts technology bachelor-degree major, to attend the May 20 event in Chicago, which is hosted by the National Restaurant Association and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
Hall and Weaver will join nearly 200 other students from more than 100 restaurant and culinary schools nationwide.
Hall earned an associate degree in dietary manager technology in 2005 and expects to graduate with her bachelor's degree in December. She served as an intern on the college's public-television cooking series, "You're the Chef," and spent a summer working in the kitchen of Ristorante Volare at the Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. She is a senior resident assistant in an on-campus housing complex, for which she has twice been honored as "RA of the Month." She is also a member and current president of the National Residence Hall Honorary's Penn College chapter. She received the Hospitality Faculty Award in December 2005.
Weaver is a tutor for fellow students in the School of Hospitality and has been named to the dean's list seven times during her college career. She earned an associate degree in dietary manager technology earlier this month and plans to graduate with her bachelor's degree in December.
The students will be honored during the Annual Salute to Excellence Awards Gala and Banquet at the Chicago Hilton, held in conjunction with the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show.
At the awards ceremony, the NRAEF honors the country's most remarkable restaurant and food-service industry student delegates and celebrates outstanding industry professionals. The Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show also will also include educational seminars, demonstrations by some of the nation's top chefs and a keynote address by journalist Ted Koppel.
For more information about School of Hospitality programs at Penn College, call (570) 327-4505 orsend e-mail .