Solid culinary skills and a great work ethic are paying huge dividends for two students at Carl D. Perkins Job Corps. Both students, Dassen Cook and John Burton, have landed paid summer jobs as a direct result of their work during their work-based learning internships.

Cook, 20, from Natchitoches, LA, worked several banquets at the Hilton Garden Inn in Pikeville, KY, during his WBL assignment, and was offered a paid position after displaying an outstanding work ethic and solid culinary skills.

That same winning combination of work ethic and culinary training landed Burton, 20, from Shepherdsville, KY, a paid summer job at Jenny Wiley State Park after he completed his WBL internship there.

Both students now are able to work and gain more culinary knowledge, while also saving for their transition out of the Job Corps program. Students who are working in paid positions are required to save 80 percent of their earnings to assist them with paying rent deposits, purchasing cars, etc., when they complete the Job Corps program.

Carl D. Perkins Job Corps thanks Jenny Wiley State Park and Hilton Garden Inn for their valuable partnerships.