Samara Thadison has been rolling sushi for almost a year at Iya Sushi and Noodle Kitchen in South Hadley as part of her co-op placement through Holyoke High School Dean Tech’s culinary arts co-op placement. She is considered a great employee and an asset to the restaurant’s owner and employees.
Samara’s colleagues at Iya Sushi call her motivated, noting she takes pride in what she’s learned at the restaurant and is always motivated to grow her skills. Samara also credits her teachers and the training program at Dean for helping her become very self aware in the commercial kitchen environment, while helping to strengthen her leadership skills, meet goals, and prepare her for the real world outside of high school. “All it takes is hard work. That really strengthened me to where I am, and it built my confidence,” Samara said.