The National SkillsUSA contest was held last week in which two students from the Greene County School District participated in.

Recent graduate Jackie Hawthorne earned 19th place in restaurant service, while Kama Lenchanko-who will be entering his senior year-was 28th place in commercial baking. Hawthorne says the competition was incredibly tough and it doesn’t get any easier. This was the third time she had qualified for the national contest, but points out that it was especially tough for her and now retired instructor Donna Carhill.

“It was really intense this year, but it was also a really sad year for both me and Carhill. We kind of had some emotional moments at the end of our competition. But it was really worth it. It was a really long and hard competition and Carhill really helped me get through it.”

Hawthorne underwent a ten-hour competition while Lenchanko had to endure eight hours for his contest. It was held in Louisville, Kentucky.