Eastside High School culinary students qualify for national career tech competition with wins at state level

Press release from Alachua County Public Schools

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two students from the Eastside High School Institute of Culinary Arts have qualified for the national SkillsUSA Championship in June, which is billed as the “premier showcase of America’s most highly skilled career and technical education students.”  

Seniors Austin Rogers and Reagan Yrausquin both won Gold Medals at the recent SkillsUSA Florida State Leadership and Skills Conference — Rogers in the Baking and Pastry category and Yrausquin in the Restaurant Service category. Their winning performances earned them spots in the national competition, which will be held in Atlanta at the beginning of June. 

Three other Eastside students also brought home state medals. The team of Zachary Wilson and Dalton Madson, both sophomores, won a Silver Medal in the Wedding Cake Design category. Junior Tory Harper won a Bronze Medal in the Restaurant Service category.

“These students have shown remarkable dedication and talent in their craft,” said the Institute of Culinary Arts program director, Chef Pamela Bedford. “Their success is a reflection of their hard work and commitment to excellence.”

SkillsUSA competitions allow students participating in career and technical education programs to compete in hands-on events that require high-level technical and leadership skills, such as public speaking. The national SkillsUSA competition typically brings together about 6,000 of the country’s top students in a wide variety of fields, including culinary arts, health science, information technology, and more, to be assessed by expert judges. 

According to the SkillsUSA website, the goal of the competitions “is to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance, and to keep classroom training relevant to employers’ needs.”