Blake F.
Bergen County Special Services School District student Blake F. is one of the highlighted individuals for this month’s Student Spotlight. Blake is in his third year of BCSSD’s Career Crossroads program a shared-time vocational program that offers students the opportunity to explore and prepare for careers in sales and customer service or hospitality and food service through classroom, project-based and community-based learning experiences.
In Career Crossroads, Blake has been an integral part of launching the breakfast portion of our on-campus restaurant, the Bergen Bistro. Blake has worked hard to hone his skills in the kitchen and has experienced social and emotional growth during this time in the program. Through this process, he has become a mentor to the younger and less-experienced students in the program, sharing his own experiences to help other students learn, grow and achieve their goals.
Last year, at Career Crossroads, he completed the ServSafe food handler class and earned his certificate demonstrating his commitment to safe practices and measures. In addition to ServSafe, Blake is certified in CPR, first aid, and lifeguarding. He works as a lifeguard at the American Dream Mall and his township pool and is an assistant coach for the Hackensack High School wrestling team. Most recently Blake has taken and passed the EMT training course and hopes to be working in that field in the near future.
Jose R.
BCSSSD student Jose R. is one of this month’s Spotlight Students. He is in his third year at Springboard, which provides a supportive environment to students ages 18 to 21, who are transitioning from high school to work or higher education. The program places special emphasis on career exploration, functional academics, and independent living skills.
Through the program, Jose has showcased his skills and versatility in helping run the lunch portion of the Bergen Bistro which is one of the busiest times for the program. He is highly skilled in all front- and back-of-house tasks and leads by example as a role model to his peers through his hard work, professionalism in the workplace, and willingness to always help others.
Jose has shown tremendous growth over the past three years and his involvement in the program has been an inspiration to his fellow hospitality professionals of the future. His kindness, friendliness, and positive attitude are contagious to everyone in the program.