Students get a ‘taste’ of careers in hospitality and documentary filmmaking

Students of the Charter School of Educational Excellence’s (CSEE) in Yonkers learn about the hospitality industry at Kanopi in White Plains. From left, Daniel Acheampong Jr., Christian McFarlane, Kwasi Opoku, Kofi Frimpong, Andrew Rosario and Samantha Flores. Courtesy the Charter School of Educational Excellence (CSEE).

As the school year ends and summertime approaches, students have been getting a ‘taste’ of the working world at two Westchester County locales.

On May 31, culinary students at the Charter School of Educational Excellence (CSEE) in Yonkers visited Kanopi in White Plains to learn more about the restaurant industry. 

The visit gave a dozen students a behind-the-scenes glimpse at operations at one of the county’s premier private event spaces, located at the top of The Opus Westchester in White Plains. The Restaurant at Kanopi is a refined version of a Portuguese tasca, or tavern, with a dining room and kitchen table nestled in the event space.

“One of our goals is to expose our students to real-life situations so that they understand how the techniques and practices they are learning in our high school’s industrial kitchen translate into a private hospitality setting,” said Matthew Chin, a culinary instructor at the CSEE.

The Picture House Regional Film Center in Pelham has announced a Documentary Intensive Workshop for high school students that will showcase the Opportunity Youth Part initiative of the New Rochelle City Court. Courtesy The Picture House Regional Film Center.

The CSEE’s industrial kitchen opened in 2021 as part of the $27 million high school building at 220 Warburton Ave. While the school emphasizes academic achievement, it also offers students practical vocational opportunities that can help them pay for their higher education.

Besides culinary arts, the CSEE also has automotive instruction with a state-of-the-art auto lab, a fully functional auto service garage with two hydraulic lifts, an alignment lift and a classroom separate from the garage.

The CSEE recently formed a partnership with the Ford Automotive Career Exploration program to increase student job opportunities in the automotive industry. Tasca Ford Yonkers at 900 Central Park Ave. is the school’s dealership partner.

Meanwhile, The Picture House Regional Film Center in Pelham has announced a Documentary Intensive Workshop for high school students that will showcase the Opportunity Youth Part initiative of the New Rochelle City Court. Launched at the court in October 2020, the Opportunity Youth Part (OYP) initiative links emerging adults facing misdemeanor or felony charges, ages 16 to 24, to local service providers who offer workforce development training and access to employment, academic assistance, behavioral health service and mentors from the community.

The camp will take place Aug. 5 through 9 at TPH’s Studio in Bronxville. The workshop is part of a lineup of one-week camps this summer at The Studio. Over the course of three weeks, The Picture House will offer camps designed specifically for high school, middle school, and elementary school students.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Judge Jared R. Rice and the New Rochelle City Court for this year’s documentary camp,” said Clayton Bushong, executive director, The Picture House. “This is a great way to both teach our students about an important organization on the Sound Shore while giving them the chance to learn hands-on skills on how to uplift and tell stories that are so important to building a strong community. We hope to raise awareness of the important and impactful work that Opportunity Youth Part does for an underserved part of Westchester County.”