2 Penta Career Center students win top awards at National Leadership & Skills Conference

Penta students Megan Hess, left, and Laura Luckey sport the medals they won from the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference. PENTA CAREER CENTER Enlarge

Penta Career Center students Laura Luckey of Woodmore High School won first place and Megan Hess of Northwood High School earned third place in competition at the 48th Annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference June 23-27 in Kansas City, Mo.

They advanced to the national competition by earning first place awards in the spring at the Ohio SkillsUSA contest in Columbus.

Luckey, of the Class of 2012, won a gold medal in the Medical Math competition at the national conference. She has completed Penta’s Exercise Science/Sports Health Care program.

Hess, also of the Class of 2012, earned a bronze medal in the Culinary Arts competition at the national conference. She has completed Penta’s Culinary Arts program. She is the pizza pantry prep chef at Ciao! Restaurant in Sylvania.

In Kansas City, students competed against dozens of contestants from across the United States to earn their awards. Luckey was accompanied by Penta Exercise Science/Sports Health Care instructor Gretchen Reichow. Hess was accompanied by Janea Makowski, instructor of Culinary Arts at Penta.

In addition to her gold medal, Luckey received gift cards from Lowe’s and Starbucks. For her third place award, Hess earned scholarships to Johnson & Wales University, the Culinary Institute of America and Le Cordon Bleu. She also received various kitchen utensils and shoes.

The National Leadership & Skills Conference is competition for public high school and college/post-secondary students enrolled in career and technical education programs. More than 5,600 students competed in 94 hands-on skill and leadership contests. Penta is a vocational school in Perrysburg Township.