Emily Cargian comes full circle in her passion for culinary arts

Since the age of five, Emily Cargian has always had an interest in cooking and baking, largely inspired by her aunt, Kathy Barron. Barron is Robin Cargian’s (Groton Town Clerk) sister, and Robin is Emily’s mother.

Emily is a 2024 alumna of both Groton Jr/Sr High School and the Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga (TST) BOCES, where she pursued her passion for food in TST’s Culinary Arts program in the Career and Technical Education Center (CTE) – never dreaming that in September she would find herself as an educator in the very program she had just graduated from in June!

“I had a summer job at a bakery and was in the middle of putting cookies in the oven with the phone on my shoulder as I took a call from Delmer Padgett, the director of CTE, asking me if I was interested in being the teacher’s aide in the culinary program”, Emily said. “I was shocked and couldn’t wait to tell my mom and my aunt! It’s not every day that a very recent graduate gets an official position like this, let alone something they know they’re going to love!”

Just before Emily began her junior year at TST, she had taken the opportunity to be a summer intern working under Groton Central School’s (GCS) food service director, Kelley Neville, helping prepare more than 8,000 free summer breakfasts and lunches for students and assisting Neville in the culinary-based enrichment programs for younger students. , Emily said this experience solidified her desire to have food preparation as her future career.

During the two-year CTE program, Emily said she was very grateful for the opportunities for more internships, catering experience, and the creative freedom in her senior year taking a turn at running the campus’ “Bistro 55,”

which is open to the public with very reasonable prices from 11:20 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. She also loved the feel of the campus as a community and the way TST recognizes student accomplishments.

“Running the Bistro was my favorite thing,” Emily said. “Culinary students take what they learn as a junior and apply it there by creating their own menu for their week, figuring out what food pairings to use, doing a market order, recipe conversions, production sheets for the prep work, and everything else needed to run it.”

Vicki Fitzgerald, CTE’s Culinary Arts instructor, was a student in the program herself at one time, and said she was “very excited” to recommend Emily for the position.   

“During Emily’s two years in the program, she showed leadership, dependability, and a passion for learning,” Fitzgerald said. “I am proud of Emily’s growth and look forward to working with her for several years to come. Emily continues to be a hard worker and will put the skills she learned in the program to work every day. I can’t wait to be a part of her journey!”

“I’ve been learning and seeing a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that I never noticed as a student,”

Emily said. “Now I see all the things that go on around me that I never had anything to do with as a student.”

Ironically, Emily recalled that she didn’t think she wanted to “work with kids” back when she had done her summer internship at GCS, but now feels very comfortable teaching them.

“They’re really young adults, ” Emily said. “It makes me happy that they trust me and are asking questions and testing my knowledge of the field. I love steering them in the right direction. It does break my heart that there is only one student from Groton though. There used to be so many more, and I hope there will be more again in the future. These CTE programs train you for the real world with hands-on experiences.” 

Cindy Walter, Assistant Superintendent for Instructional and Career Services at TST said, “We are thrilled to have Emily serving at TST BOCES. It is an honor to have a student successfully complete our CTE course and then return to build a career in the same program. This was the path that Vicki Fitzgerald took, and she has built a program that always has a waiting list. Emily has been very well received by students and we are proud to have her serving the students with first-hand knowledge of having been through the program.” 

“Of all the things I felt when I got that call, I felt most proud of myself that all of my accomplishments at BOCES are now coming to fruition, ” Emily said. “I am happy where I’m at and I don’t think it could have worked out any better!”

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at (607) 227-4922. 

In brief:

French Club craft show

The Groton High School French Club will host its annual craft show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9,  located in both gymnasiums, the cafeteria, and the school library at 400 Peru Rd.

Admission is free, and there will be more than 100 vendors with a wide variety of crafts and items for sale. The French Club also offers concession stands for breakfast and lunch.

Village leaf pickup reminder

Residents of the Village of Groton may have their raked leaves picked up and taken away from Monday, Nov. 4 through Monday, Dec. 2. Leaves should be raked to the curb or street side for pickup. They will not accept plastic bags of leaves, brush or vines.

Veteran’s Day dinner

The Groton American Legion Post 800 will hold a Veterans Day dinner Saturday, Nov. 9. A commemorative program will begin at 6 p.m., followed by a roast pork and dressing dinner. Free to all veterans and one guest. Reservations are required by calling 607-898-3837.