NDSCS Culinary Arts students and faculty hosted the 3rd annual Scholarship Dinner on Thursday, March 9th. The annual Culinary Scholarship Dinner helps raise funds to support scholarship dollars for Culinary Arts students, increasing accessibility for students to attend this program at NDSCS. This dinner is also an excellent opportunity for students to help create and serve a multi-course fine dining experience for guests, teaching important on-the-job skills and benefiting their overall Culinary education. This year’s event brought in over $3500, which will be added to the growing program-specific endowments for student scholarships!

This 6-course dinner with wine pairings was prepared and served by culinary students, faculty, and program alumni. Chef Joseph Brunner, NDSCS alumnus and current Executive Chef at Mezzaluna in Fargo, created the entrée course for the scholarship dinner. Other guest chefs included Amber Pankonin from the Great Plains Culinary Institute; Brooke Thomas, NDSCS alumnus currently at Twin Town Villa; and Carly Beyer, NDSCS alumnus and Director of Dining Services at NDSCS.

Tickets were priced at $100 per person, and $80 of each ticket was a tax-deductible donation to the NDSCS Alumni Foundation Scholarship fund. Despite the less than ideal weather, the evening had a nearly full house. Guests enjoyed appetizers, soup, salad, fish, entrée, and dessert courses and wine pairings, along with great conversation and a relaxed atmosphere. After the event, Chef Kyle Armitage, the Culinary Arts program coordinator recalled, “The 2023 Scholarship Dinner was wonderful. This event is a great opportunity for our community, students, alumni, and friends to enjoy some great food and create a lasting impact on our future Culinary students.”

The Culinary Arts program would like to include a special thank you to donors to the event: The Boiler Room, Mezzaluna, Reinhart Foods, North Dakota Soy Bean Council, Martin Brothers Foods, and the NDSCS Alumni Foundation.

Students from the North Dakota State College of Science received a number of awards at the North Dakota SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference, which was held at NDSCS in April. By achieving gold medals at the state level, 13 of these students qualified to compete in their respective categories at the national SkillsUSA Championships, which will be held in Louisville, Ky. in June.

The NDSCS students who received gold, silver or bronze medals at the state competition include:

NORTH DAKOTA
Bismarck: Morgan Berg, Welding, Silver; Charlie Jacobson, Welding Fabrication, Gold; Tanner Klein, Motorcycle Service Technology, Gold; Summer Peterson, Culinary Arts, Gold; Kolby Wetch, Diesel Equipment Technology, Gold
Dickinson: Jakob Ohl, Automotive Service Technology, Gold
Fargo: Dylan Erdmann, CNC Turning Specialist, Bronze; Bryan Sholts, Power Equipment Technology, Gold
Granville: Chase Brodehl, Plumbing, Gold
Jamestown: Dillon Bischoff, Diesel Equipment Technology, Silver; Nate Klose, HVAC, Silver; Jason Schulte, HVAC, Bronze
Lidgerwood: Daniel Novotny, Automotive Service Technology, Bronze
Mandan: Trae Bennett, Welding Fabrication, Gold
Rolette: Tanner Anderson, Diesel Equipment Technology, Bronze
South Heart: Oliver Kelly, Plumbing, Silver
Wahpeton: Drew Bajumpaa, HVAC, Gold
Williston: Steven Fixen, Electrical Construction Wiring, Gold

MINNESOTA
Barnesville: Jalen Plath, Power Equipment Technology, Silver; Tyler Stage, Power Equipment Technology, Bronze
East Grand Forks: Nick Jundt, Welding Fabrication, Gold
Fergus Falls: Jack Jacobs, Welding, Gold
Frazee: Ryan Roble, Electrical Construction Wiring, Silver
Hallock: Carson Thorsteinson, CNC Technician, Gold
Ortonville: Travis Kellen, Welding, Bronze

MONTANA
Glendive: David Rennie, Automotive Service Technology, Silver

WISCONSIN
Durand: Mike Burda, CNC Milling Specialist, Silver