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Show MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2007 . THE COLLEGE TIMES1 J A 5 News State wide Student mentors make a difference Latinos Unidos helps others to realize their potential Thomas Btasucci Guest writer Photos by Mark Johnston / College Times 'Chef of the Year/ assistant professor Troy Wilson is a certified executive chef and has been with UVSC since 2000. 'Chef of the Year' awarded to UVSC professor Britnee Nguyen Managing editor UVSC can boast having Utah's chef of the year working at its campus. Troy Wilson, a UVSC assistant professor in the culinary arts department, was awarded 'Chef of the Year' by the Beehive Chefs Chapter of the American Culinary Federation in November. The prestigious Chef of the Year award is given to I /*-' 4 a chef in the state who has given back to the profession and community. Wilson's dedication to the culinary profession was recognized with the award. "There were many others just as deserving of the award this year but lucky for me it fell my way," said Wilson. Wilson is a Certified Executive Chef who has been with UVSC since 2000. He is proud to be associated with the culinary arts department at UVSC. "1 love to come to work every day," said Wilson. "Working at UVSC has opened my eyes to the amount of talented students that we have in the state. Their enthusiasm and willingness to learn is what drives me every day to do the best I can," said Wilson. In the culinary arts program at UVSC, students learn the proper prepara- tion of different food items and develop skills in several forms of cooking. In Wilson's advanced professional kitchen class, his students learn the cooking techniques of a variety of food dishes from the French, Italian and Pacific Rim cuisines. Teaching at UVSC has given Wilson a different perspective of culinary arts. "Academia is a much different situation than that of . *'* mO Vest 1130 South Orem, UT 84058 "-'^\f^ . (801) 431-0000V ' * the industry," said Wilson. "Working here has made me a better chef and person." With the dedication of Wilson and other instructors, the UVSC culinary arts program is expected to continue to provide students with an exceptional education. UVSC student Hilary Gillette also won the Junior member of the Year award from the ACF Beehive Chefs Chapter. I I I I I Latinos Unidos is a new service oriented club on campus that is inviting UVSC students to participate in a mentoring program for Hispanic elementary and high school students. The club was founded by Professor Kyle Reyes - the Hispanic/Lation outreach counselor at the Multicultural Center - as a way to reach out to the Hispanic community and to mentor youth with the goal of getting more Latinos to attend college. A recent article in the Daily Herald (Aug. 5, "County seeing more gang activity") points out that the majority of gang-related activity fn the Utah County area is connected to the Hispanic population. The majority of the students who attend alternative high schools (Landmark, East Shore and Independence) in Utah County are Hispanic. It is clear that many of these students need role models. Reyes has created a plan that is geared toward providing these students with positive role models and is calling for willing UV students to help out. "One of the most important factors in student achievement is the presence of role models: parents, educators, older siblings, community and religious leaders, informal mentors," Reyes said. "In our local school districts [Nebo, Provo, Alpine, Wasatch, and Summit], our Hispanic students do not have many Hispanic educators to look up to." Reyes has organized a group of UV students who will serve their community through: (1) Dynamic classroom/ assembly presentations that inspire and motivate student to attend college and be proud of their heritage. (2) Service projects in the Latin(o/a) community. (3) Booth presentations at parent teacher conferences. (4) Tutoring and mentoring in both Spanish and English. "We will target schools in five districts [Nebo, Provo, Alpine, Wasatch, and Summit] as well as select schools outside of our target area who have a high population of Latino students," Reyes said. The overall objectives of the club are to develop mentoring relationships between Hispanic students at UVSC and local high schools. Student mentors will have the opportunity to engage Hispanic parents and students in the college preparation process. Mentors will have opportunities to tutor, talk about ways to be successful in college, or even just provide academic encouragement to struggling students. All -UVSC students are invited to help, if they speak Spanish or not. All who are interested in helping the Latino community please contact Kyle A. Reyes at (801) 863-6766, visit WB 146b or e-mail Professor Reyes at ReyesKY@UVSC.edu |