Yelm High School CTE instructor, Fort Stevens satellite cook honored at board meeting

Two Yelm Community Schools (YCS) employees were honored and highlighted with excellence awards during a YCS Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, Feb. 26.

Hilary Hull, a Career and Technical Education (CTE) instructor at Yelm High School (YHS), and Adriana Lucatero, a satellite cook at Fort Stevens Elementary School, were each celebrated with awards of excellence in their respective departments. Hull received the district’s excellence in CTE award, while Lucatero received the excellence in food services award.

Teri Melone, YCS director of operations, spoke on the tremendous work that Hull does within the CTE department at YHS, stating she’s someone who doesn’t just support CTE, but brings it to life every single day in the classroom.

“It is my honor to celebrate Hilary Hull as our CTE excellence award recipient. CTE is about possibility. It’s about opening doors, building bridges and helping students not see just where they are but where they’re going. And Hilary, she’s a master builder,” Melone said, of Hull. “She ensures our programs offer college credit, industry recognized credentials, real employability schools and meaningful learning experiences, work based experiences and a clear career path plan.”

Melone added that Hull “doesn’t just talk about” preparing students for their futures, but rather actively helps her students design it day in and day out.

“Hilary is innovative, creative and always thinking one step ahead,” Melone said. “She has cultivated strong partnerships with local businesses, creating a powerful pipeline for our students. She connects classrooms to careers, organizing field trips, bringing in guest speakers that spark inspiration, and aligning students and staff with training programs that make real and relevant learning experiences.”

Tina Friesz, YCS food services supervisor, said the decision to nominate Lucatero for the excellence in food services award was a clear and easy decision.

“When I was first notified that I needed to choose one staff out of 36, I knew immediately who,” Friesz said. “My choice was based on an employee who gives 100% or more for our department, communicates well within food service and the building staff, (someone) who is an amazing leader of their team and (someone) who provides excellent service to our students and staff. The excellence in food service award goes to Adriana Lucatero at Fort Stevens.”

You can learn more about each department — CTE and food services — by visiting the YCS website at https://www.ycs.wednet.edu/departments.