BVT culinary arts instructor honored with Mass. new teacher award
Under the watchful eye of Chef Laura Campagna, the Culinary Arts instructor in charge of the baking program at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, students create custom baked goods, cookies, and pastries that not only look good but taste amazing.
If you’re looking for a yummy treat, they’re in the student-run pastry counter in the BVT Bake Shop. Chef Campagna proudly provides her students with an outstanding vocational-technical education. Her positive energy, creative thinking, and hard work have brought the Bake Shop to a new level. Paired with an engaging curriculum and challenging projects, all contributed to earning recognition from the Massachusetts Vocational Association (MVA) as the recipient of their annual New Teacher Award.
“Receiving the MVA New Teacher Award exemplifies the talent and passion that Laura Campagna brings to our Culinary Arts program,” said Superintendent-Director Dr. Michael F. Fitzpatrick. “We are proud of Chef Campagna and her achievement. We enjoy pursuing the pastry counter and sampling her students’ work.”
“I enjoy teaching our students the science of baking and the role each ingredient plays in the process. When a student can isolate what each ingredient contributes to a recipe and learns how different ingredient combinations trigger varying outcomes, they can better understand how to troubleshoot a recipe or work on developing recipes of their own,” said Chef Campagna. “In the Bake Shop, students have an opportunity to do ingredient experiments, talk things through, share successes and analyze mistakes. Whether a student becomes a professional baker or not, this process helps with so many life skills.”
The MVA New Teacher Award is given to a new teacher that exemplifies excellence in teaching in the vocational high school setting. The award includes five hundred dollars for the purchase of new supplies for the shop program. Campagna plans to use those funds to enhance her students’ learning experience with a touchscreen or projection unit, which would allow her to easily display notes, recipes, class outlines, and more.
“BVT has welcomed me with open arms, allowing me to reimagine what the Bake Shop could be, said Chef Campagna. “I’ve had access to financial support to purchase equipment, redesign the shop lab, and change the curriculum to create learning progression for the students. I am part of a wonderful department that makes group decisions and is vested in creating a positive experience for all of our students.”
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