Kayla Hilton always knew she wanted to be an elementary school teacher. 

Her mother, Ms. Susan Snyder, teaches the Introduction to Culinary Arts program at Lancaster County Career and Technology Center’s (LCCTC) Mount Joy campus, but Hilton wanted to teach younger students. She explains, “I wanted [students] to enjoy their education and to… have a good set-up, so that they can look at education as a positive thing and not a negative. That’s why I wanted [to teach] a younger age, because this really is the foundation.” 

Hilton graduated from our Early Childhood Education program at our Mount Joy campus in 2015 and attended the Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) soon after. She says that her CTC transferrable credits were useful for saving her money and time, but she particularly emphasized how much the depth and practicality of her program’s curriculum prepared her for her future job. “You actually had hands-on. You were able to create lesson plans. You’re actually able to create the materials…. CTC definitely gave me a more realistic education [than college] on what it’s like to be a teacher,” she says, while admitting that her student teaching experience was altered due to the pandemic. 

She recalls a lesson on planting and taking care of trees that she taught to preschool-aged children while in high school. She remembers how the children responded with interest and excitement about learning. “That was the one thing that made me feel like, ‘Oh, okay, I can do this….’ It’s not going to be perfect the first time you teach. So it was a kind of confirmation, it was confirming for me that this is what I want to do,” she says. 

Hilton currently works as a second-grade teacher at Captain John Smith Elementary School in Virginia. She was recently honored as Teacher of the Year, an award that still shocks her. She says she strives to be the kind of teacher that makes an impact on her students; she described her 101st-Day-of-School celebration this year, where she dressed up as Albert Einstein and made one of her most solemn students laugh. “I’d been trying to help him build his confidence… and I hadn’t been able to make him smile all year,” she remarked. 

Hilton admits that even with a few years of experience now, each and every day in the classroom is different. She detailed one reading lesson where all of her “usual teacher tricks” for engagement fell flat. She jokingly offered to bribe her students with candy to do their work and one student “without missing a beat” gasped loudly, “Mrs. Hilton! That’s what kid-nappers do!” “Needless to say, the whole class burst out laughing – and so did I. It was one of those moments that perfectly captures the unpredictable, unfiltered honesty of teaching little ones,” she said. 

As Teacher of the Year, Hilton proves that early passion, paired with practical training and a willingness to adapt to the unexpected, can shape a successful career.

June 16, 2025

Willow Street, PA — Lancaster County Career and Technology Center, 1730 Hans Herr Drive, Willow Street, PA 17584, is applying for reaffirmation accreditation with the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education. Persons wishing to make comments should write to the Executive Director of the Commission, Council on Occupational Education, 7840 Roswell Road, Bldg. 300, Suite 325, Atlanta, GA 30350. Persons making comments must provide their names and mailing addresses.

June 6, 2025

Willow Street, PA – Advanced Placement Internship and Cooperative Education students at the Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC) earned over $1 million in wages during the 2024-2025 school year.

The CTC thanks all industry partners and Dr. Susan Wienand, our work-based learning and outreach coordinator, for their efforts in guiding students towards this impressive feat this year! This accomplishment could not have been reached without your support.

To our students, well done! Your hard work truly paid off.

Please view the link below to review the data.

LCCTC 2024-2025 API and Co-Op Data Analysis

June 4, 2025

The inaugural issue of the LCCTC TechTalk literary magazine is online!

TechTalk is a space for all CTC students – high school and higher education alike – to explore and express their creative sides. The magazine’s Editorial Committee explains, “Everyone has a talent in areas outside a major. It can be photography, layout and design, writing, or other areas. TechTalk hopes to provide a platform for those other talents for as many students as we can.”

Additionally, the literary magazine affords students the opportunity to oversee layout, design, printing, writing, and photography in a real-world setting.

Though this first issue only contains submissions from the Brownstown and Willow Street campuses, the editors emphasize that the literary magazine welcomes submissions from across all CTC campuses. CTC students: if you would like to contribute, please contact Te******@**********TC.edu.

Click the image of the cover below to view the PDF version. If you would like to save a copy of the file, right-click on the cover image and select “Save Link As.”

Inside This Issue:
My Dad, His Jimmy, and Me
My Journey in the Veterinary Field
Dog Story (Part One)
Sad Memories Linger
Miracle on Ice
Spotlight: Photography
A Little Dog Had a Big Influence
Dr. Julie Frey: A Passionate Leader Inspiring the Next Generation at Mount Joy
The Reflection
Dealing with a Narcissist
Spotlight: Digital Design and Print Media

A plumbing student in orange and a hard hat

June 4, 2025

Willow Street, PA – The Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC) has announced its Certificate and Awards recipients for the 2024-2025 school year. Please view the link below to read the complete list.

LCCTC 2024-2025 Certificate and Awards Recipients

Note: Some students have been removed from the above list for privacy.

Thank you to our industry partners and the Lancaster County Career and Technology Foundation for your donations to students both entering the workforce and attending post-secondary education.

To our graduating class of 2025: we wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Keep in touch via our alumni form!

Alumni Form

Mount Joy, PA – Thomas Feguer wasn’t sure what he wanted to be when he grew up.

The soccer- and tennis-playing senior from Elizabethtown Area School District was willing to try a cooking class at his sending school for the food, and he found that he genuinely enjoyed being a part of a culinary team. Feguer had “a bunch of goofballs” in his group who were also game to replicate a Gordon Ramsay dish for their final project. 

“I think I made a biscuit, like, maybe two weeks before” the team attempted sausage, honey, and cheddar biscuits, he said. “So many things went wrong, and our oven didn’t get to the right temp[erature], so our biscuits didn’t brown right or anything. But we still ended up winning the final against a really good-looking smash burger and some kind of pasta. … It was that moment [that] I think I knew I wanted to do [culinary arts].” 

Feguer started working at Taco Bell in June of 2022, at the chain’s brand-new Mount Joy location. He remembered his manager texting him directly to encourage him to submit a video application for the Live Más Scholarship through the Taco Bell Foundation. “Later on, in April, my store manager was like, “Oh, yeah, we’re having a meeting celebrating our core evaluation, which is when corporate comes in to make sure we’re doing our job right,” he said. He recalled the pressure to attend, which was all a set-up to award his first $10,000 scholarship. Feguer emphasized the shock of seeing the big check and the realization that he could continue to apply. 

He next submitted a montage of himself working in the store with a voiceover in his second application, earning $10,000 of the $20,000 he applied for. He decided to “shoot for the moon” this year with another video of himself cooking in the kitchen at Taco Bell. He was awarded $25,000. Feguer explained that in sum, he and the other 27 scholarship winners from his ownership franchise were given a little over half a million dollars, which meant “we pretty much swept the competition.” 

Feguer felt a kind of “kick” from his scholarship awards to make active moves towards becoming a culinary professional. Following his high school Foods and Nutrition courses and his second scholarship award, he joined the Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC) to “learn how to play in the sandbox.” He feels he has grown in his leadership abilities and “work ethic is such a big part of it.” He admits he didn’t know much before joining the full-day Culinary Arts program — “I knew nothing about a hollandaise sauce or fine julienne cuts” — and was nervous that he would feel behind in comparison to students who have worked in food trucks or parents’ restaurants. In retrospect, he says, “We’re all here to learn… and everyone knows that…. You get what you put into it.” 

Feguer is headed to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York this fall for his bachelor’s degree in food and business. With knowledge from their business classes and connections through CIA networking events, he hopes to become a private chef for athletes and sports teams. 

About the LCCTC: The Lancaster County Career & Technology Center (LCCTC) is a full-service career and technical school dedicated to preparing high school students and adults for careers in the new economy. Lancaster County CTC is best among its class and strives to meet the highest standards of quality instruction. For more information regarding our mission, programs, or initiatives, please visit lancasterctc.edu. 

April 16, 2025

Willow Street, PA – The Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC) has announced its Honor Roll for the 3rd marking period of the 2024-2025 school year. Students named to the Honor Roll must maintain a grade of 90 or above. Please see the link below. 

LCCTC 2024-2025 3rd Marking Period Honor Roll Students 

Note: Some students have been removed from the above list for privacy. 

Congratulations to all of our Honor Roll students! 

March 5, 2025

Willow Street, PA – The Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC) has announced information regarding our Certificate and Awards ceremonies for 2025. Please note the Mount Joy and Willow Street campuses are at different locations than previous years.

Congratulations to all of our Certificate and Awards recipients!

Please note, these events are **by invite only!**
Our Certificate and Awards ceremonies will be held at 7:00 PM (with doors opening at 6:15 PM) on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at the following locations:
Brownstown Campus — Warwick High School
Mount Joy Campus — LCBC Manheim
Willow Street Campus — Calvary Church, Landis Valley Road

January 27, 2025

Willow Street, PA – The Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC) has announced its Honor Roll for the 2nd marking period of the 2024-2025 school year. Students named to the Honor Roll must maintain a grade of 90 or above. Please see the link below. 

LCCTC 2024-2025 2nd Marking Period Honor Roll Students 

Note: Some students have been removed from the above list for privacy. 

Congratulations to all of our Honor Roll students! 

January 10, 2025 

Mount Joy, PA – Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC) is proud to recognize its continued partnership with the Lancaster County Firemen’s Association (LCFA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to public safety education and training since 1921. LCFA recently announced it will cover the Academy’s $5,166.86 invoice from the Lancaster County Public Safety Training Center for consumable costs in the year 2024. 

LCCTC’s Protective Services Academy (PSA) offers high school students hands-on training in firefighting, first responder operations, and emergency medical technician (EMT) procedures. LCFA funds certain essential training materials for the Academy, housed at the Lancaster County Public Safety Training Center. These materials, ranging from natural gas for fire simulations to wrecked vehicles for rescue drills, allow the Academy to provide students practical training without additional costs. 

John Sweigart, LCFA treasurer and a former PSA instructor, explained the nonprofit’s mission is to “provide education and training for firefighters and EMS, and fire safety education for the public.” He considered LCFA’s support of the PSA an investment in the wider Lancaster County community. 

In addition to covering training expenses, LCFA reimburses EMT testing fees for Academy students who pass the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) exam. The community organization also awards a $4,000 scholarship annually to a Protective Services Academy graduate pursuing higher education or technical training in emergency services. 

Sweigart noted that “the sooner you can get people involved,” the better prepared and more well-equipped future first responders will be. 

To encourage student interest in first responder employment, LCFA grants Academy students and instructors free admission to its annual spring Fire Expo at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex. The Expo offers students a look at cutting-edge emergency services equipment and training opportunities with over 260 exhibitors and nearly 10,000 attendees. The event also provides students with opportunities for professional networking. 

Many graduates of LCCTC’s Protective Services Academy join local fire departments, EMS agencies, or 911 dispatch centers. Sweigart emphasized LCFA’s support plays a critical role in fostering the pipeline of skilled professionals who serve Lancaster County’s emergency needs. 

For more information about LCFA and its initiatives, visit https://www.lcfa.com/

About the LCCTC: The Lancaster County Career & Technology Center (LCCTC) is a full-service career and technical school dedicated to preparing high school students and adults for careers in the new economy. Lancaster County CTC is best among its class and strives to meet the highest standards of quality instruction. For more information regarding our mission, programs, or initiatives, please visit lancasterctc.edu.