131 Underserved Youth Nationwide Awarded Over $2.5 Million In Scholarships

NEW YORK, July 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) announced today the 131 public high school student recipients of $2,643,915 in scholarships for college level food and hospitality education.  The announcement comes despite pandemic-induced obstacles, including the suspension of C-CAP students' in-school classes and the cancellation of the final Cooking Competition for Scholarships in five of the organization's six regional locations (New York City conducted its final competition before the onset of the COVID-19 crisis).  Nonetheless, the nonprofit's 30-year history of empowering underserved youth forged ahead to determine C-CAP scholarship recipients for 2020 by their preliminary competition round performance, their grades, their competition application, and other factors.  

Nationally, 382 public high school C-CAP students participated in the six preliminary competitions for scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $132,216 for 16 educational institutions such as the: Academy of Culinary Education; Culinary Institute of America; Delaware County Community College; the Culinary Institute of New York at Monroe College; the International Culinary Center; Joliet Junior College; Paul Smith's College; Scottsdale Community College; and Johnson & Wales University. A complete list is available at ccapinc.org/news/2020-scholarships/.

For the preliminary competitions, each student prepares two dishes in a designated time period - a French omelette and a tomato, cucumber and bell pepper salad.  The dishes, which were judged on taste and presentation, involve a range of skills, the mastery of which is fundamental to a cooking role in a professional kitchen.

The regional breakdown of the scholarship recipients and amounts is: Arizona, 28 scholarships equaling $470,309; Chicago, 10 equaling $225,756; Los Angeles, 34 equaling $430,131; New York, 24 equaling $841,643; Philadelphia, 15 equaling $316,968; and Washington, D.C., 20 equaling $359,107.

Nationally, 17 C-CAP students were awarded full-tuition scholarships for a bachelor's degree, for up to $132,216.  Four scholarship awardees will attend the Culinary Institute of America (CIA); four will matriculate into Johnson & Wales University; two will attend Paul Smith's College; and seven will go to the Culinary Institute of New York at Monroe College.  Another three students were awarded full-tuition scholarships for an associate's degrees at the CIA. One additional student was awarded The Russell Ferber Foundation Memorial Scholarship that will cover tuition at the CIA for an associate's degree in baking and pastry arts.

C-CAP awarded another seven full-tuition scholarships for a diploma or certificate, including four from the Institute of Culinary Education and one each from the International Culinary Center, Chef Eric's Culinary Classroom, and the Academy of Culinary Education. Other scholarships C-CAP awarded included half and partial-tuition scholarships and cash scholarships. (Representative scholarships by region follow at the end of the release.)

This year's C-CAP Scholarship awards were particularly meaningful, not only because they were awarded in spite of the pandemic, but they are a highlight of C-CAP's 30^th anniversary.  Over those three decades, the organization has served more than 350,000 students and bestowed more than $62 million in scholarships. Currently, C-CAP annually supports 15,000 students nationwide to develop their interest in and skills for culinary and hospitality industry career through: job training and internships; career exploration and advisement; college discovery and advisement; teacher professional development; and product donations for classrooms.  The C-CAP scholarships are made possible by corporations, charitable organizations and individual donors, including: The Russell Ferber Foundation; The Ronald Newburg Foundation, Kendall College Trust; US Foods; Barbara Slifka; and the Joseph and Sylvia Slifka Foundation.  For a complete list, see: ccapinc.org/news/2020-scholarships/.

Regional Representative Scholarships:

Arizona

• Kylee Yazzie, Dairy Council Scholarship, $2,000 & Fox Restaurant Concepts Scholarship, $1,000
• Paige Beason, Johnson & Wales University Full-Tuition Scholarship for a Bachelor's Degree, $132,216

Chicago

• Alexis Gonzalez, Johnson & Wales Full-Tuition Scholarship for the Bachelor's Degree, $132,216.00
• Trinity Rosario, Joliet Junior College Tuition-Assistance Scholarship, $500.00 & Kendall College Trust Scholarship, $2,50

Los Angeles

• Kailee Brown, Chef Eric's Culinary Classroom Full-Tuition Scholarship, $2,400 & Ronald Newburg Foundation Scholarship, $1,000
• Hunter Weier, Institute of Culinary Education [Los Angeles campus] Full-Tuition Scholarship for the Diploma in Restaurant & Culinary Management, $12,586

Philadelphia 

• Ciara Robinson, Monroe College Full-Tuition Scholarship, Bachelor's Degree, $59,040
• Giana (Gigi) Nuñez, Culinary Institute of America Full-Tuition Scholarship for the Bachelor's Degree, $124,320 & Community College Stipend, $1,568

New York

• Leslie Villalva, The Russell Ferber Foundation Memorial Scholarship $62,160
• Amaya Joseph, US Foods Scholarship, $20,000
• Martha Tenesaca, Dr. Patricia Bartholomew Scholarship, $5,000 & Les Amis D'Escoffier Scholarship, $10,000

Washington, DC  

• Mauricio Ventura-Jimenez, Dr. Robert C. & Tina Sohn Foundation Scholarship, $5,000
• Jaelyn Middleton, Barbara Slifka Scholarship, $4,000

About C-CAP
Co-chaired by chef, author, and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson, Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) is a national nonprofit that empowers today's youth through culinary arts, preparing them to shape their future with confidence. Through culinary training and career readiness programming, C-CAP prepares students for educational and career opportunities through connections to professional mentors, job training and internships, industry tours, job shadows, college advising and scholarships, and career consultation. Founded in 1990 by Richard Grausman, C-CAP impacts more than 15,000 students annually nationwide. Since our inception, C-CAP has given over $62 million in student support. Countless C-CAP alumni work throughout the country and are guiding the future leaders of the culinary and hospitality industry. For more information about C-CAP, see ccapinc.org and @ccapinc #CCAPisCooking.

SOURCE C-CAP