Augusta tech student from Readfield named student of year

London Putnam Contributed photo

Capital Area Technical Center has named London Putnam its 2023 student of the year. She resides in Readfield and is the daughter of Phil and Katie Putnam.

Putnam has attended the Culinary Arts program for two years. She has earned her ServSafe Certification. Last year, she won the gold medal in the Maine’s SkillsUSA Restaurant Service competition and went on to compete in Nationals.

This year she chose to focus her efforts on the ProStart Culinary competition, as she was a part of the winning Maine team last year that placed fifth at Nationals. She will travel to Washington, D.C., in May and again be a part of the ProStart Culinary Team that represents Maine, according to a news release from the technical center in Augusta.

Putnam, a member of the National Technical Honor Society, earned a certificate from Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG) in Employability Skills. A senior at Maranacook Community High School, she is active in the Student Senate and managed the field hockey and girl’s basketball teams.

“London works harder than most. She takes criticisms as positives, which makes her moldable. We can’t wait to see where her natural talent and drives will take her,” said her instructor, Chef Heidi Parent.

In the fall, Putnam will continue her education in Culinary Arts at Southern Maine Community College.

Putnam and her family will attend a Statewide Career and Technical Education dinner later this month, hosted by the the Maine Career and Technical Administrators organization, that will honor one student from each of Maine’s Career and Technical Education schools.

Finalists for Capital Area Technical Center’s student of the year award included Joseph Ellis, Gardiner Area High School; Brianna Gardner, Erskine Academy; Derek Harding, Cony High School; Madison Jackson, Cony High School; Myah Ladd, Maranacook Community High School; Cassidy Tims, Maranacook Community High School; Andrew Warhol, Cony High School; and Haley Williams, Winthrop High School.

These students were presented with the United States President’s Award for Educational Excellence for their success at CATC.