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High-school student voted best at tech class
PeeplesbyStephenBMorton4x6
Richmond Hill High School senior Rachel Peeples stuffs a pastry. - photo by Photo by Stephen Morton

SAVANNAH — While many college students typically study hard for final-exam questions, Savannah Technical College’s culinary arts baking and pastry students spend weeks working on their cake-decorating final exam.
Their assignment was to create two-tier wedding cakes that demonstrated at least eight decorating techniques. This summer, after cakes were scored for the final-
exam grade, a panel of judges picked Richmond Hill High School senior Rachel Peeples’ work as the best.
Peeples, 17, has a goal of owning a bakery and is dually enrolled in STC’s baking and pastry program.
As a dual-enrollment student for the past year, she earned high-school and college credit at the same time, taking some classes at STC and some classes at high school. This semester, she will finish her seventh college class and expects to be nearly halfway through her associate’s degree when she graduates high school next May.
For fall 2014, she has enrolled in the Move on When Ready (MOWR) program, which allows high-school students to attend classes at college full-time. MOWR students simultaneously earn high-school and college credit, but also graduate with their high-school classes.
Rachel plans on working her way through the remainder of the program and continuing with business classes to prepare for owning a business.
“I see all of the artistic things that can be done with cake — and it’s all edible,” she said. “I fell in love with the baking and pastry program. Now that I’ve entered some competitions and done well, I see that I’m creating amazing pieces of art.”
Her student team earned first place at last year’s Gingerbread House Competition in Savannah.
She is working with All Things Chocolate and More in Richmond Hill.   
High-school students, like Peeples, have options to jump start their careers and college educations through dual enrollment. With the dual/joint enrollment program for certificates and diplomas, high-school students age 16 or older can earn post-secondary and secondary credits, while simultaneously enrolled in college, university or technical institutions. The HOPE Grant pays partial tuition and partial fees for dual/joint enrollment. In Georgia, high-school students are responsible for fees not covered by HOPE, supplies and any other costs that may exceed the book allowance. But, thanks to local agreements with school districts in Liberty, Bryan, Chatham and Effingham counties, all tuition-related costs are covered.
For more information, go to savannahtech.edu, email cwilliams@savannahtech.edu or call 912-443-5347.

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