Anna Leszyk graduated from Southside (Elmira) High School and completed the Dental Assisting program at the Bush Education Center in 2007.

Anna earned an associate's degree from Corning Community College and then entered Erie Community College's dental hygiene program in 2009. The program proved to be rigorous, especially while maintaining employment at area restaurants to cover her education and living expenses. Anna worked hard and persevered, completing the program and passing her state board exam on the first attempt.

Anna has worked in various dental offices since earning her certification, including a part-time position in the Chemung County Health Department's dental clinic. She currently works in the local offices of Dr. Warren Eng and Dr. Mark Shaw.

Anna strives to stay up-to-date with her skills by attending dental conferences. She has shared her skills and knowledge by offering dental hygiene presentations for GST BOCES Adult Education students and students in local elementary and middle schools.

Carolina (Rose) McAdoo graduated from Horseheads High School and completed the Culinary Arts program at the Bush Education Center in 2008. The career path she embarked on after graduation has taken her across the US and around the world.

Rose's first position after graduation was a teaching chef at the Young Chef's Academy in Orlando, Florida. She was then offered a position in tour operations and hospitality management with Holland America and Aramark in Denali National Park, Alaska, where she worked seasonally for two years. In September 2010, after a season spent farming in Ireland, Scotland and England to learn more about the culinary world from the roots up, Rose was offered the opportunity to establish a first-time pastry department and dessert action station at a four-star resort in Lake Powell, Arizona.

She returned to New York in 2011 and became the Head Chef and Catering Director for Stella’s Restaurant in Ithaca. During her time there, the restaurant was voted "Best Restaurant in Ithaca" by the Cornell Sun. She simultaneously taught kids' cooking camps with the Ithaca Children's Garden and worked as the Pastry Sous Chef at Sarah's Patisserie. In early 2013, Rose's accomplishments in the culinary world led to an invitation to stage under renowned pastry chefs Carolyn Nugent and Alen Ramos at Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery in Beverly Hills, California. This experience led to a job offer at Mast Brothers Chocolate in Brooklyn, where Rose spent two years managing the chocolate production team and developing their events and education outreach programs before the company's international expansion.

Rose's charitable work deeply reflects her passion to have an impact on world hunger. She has worked with No Kid Hungry/Taste of the Nation, the Cambodian Child's Dream Organization and the NYC Refugee and Immigrant Fund, where she's farmed, led resumé workshops and coordinated an international dessert selection for their upcoming high-profile fundraising event in Manhattan. She also serves as the communications officer for Onwards Travel, a nonprofit that provides microenterprise loans to tourism/culinary-based organizations in developing countries.

Striving to live at the intersection of agriculture, food, development and culture, Rose frequently backpacks abroad to gain experience in international farming practices. So far, she's worked on farms in the continental US, England, Scotland, Hawaii, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Costa Rica and Chile. She currently lives in Brooklyn and works as a farmhand and events assistant at Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm, as a cake decorator under Betsy Thorleifson at Nine Cakes and as a culinary and agricultural consultant through her freelance catering company, Whisk Me Away Cakes.

Michael Miller completed the Carpentry program at the Bush Education Center and graduated from Horseheads High School in 1991. After graduation, Michael ran his own construction business for eight years before deciding to become a full-time missionary in his wife's childhood hometown of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Michael and his wife, Glenda, established Border Buddies Ministries in 2004 with a budget of $13,000. Today, it is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with full financial accreditation and a working budget of $350,000. Border Buddies Ministries, Inc, refurbishes selected deteriorating public school buildings, often doubling their size by adding first or second floor additions. One school even has an air-conditioned computer lab. Michael requires that a kitchen be added at each school, which allows more than 1,000 children to be fed daily. Each Saturday, more than 125 children aged four to 14 from the streets participate in a youth program that provides play time, Bible study, a meal and craft time. The organization also works with prisoners and gang members to provide resources for rehabilitation.

The One Child School Sponsorship Program operated by Border Buddies has helped more than 250 students to attend school who otherwise would not have been able to afford it. The program provides their tuition (which is charged at public schools) and uniform, along with school supplies and related school expenses.

Border Buddies works with a variety of churches in Central New York, as well as Elmira College, to provide opportunities for short-term construction and medical teams to travel to Honduras and help with its efforts. Michael continues to use the skills he gained at GST BOCES in his daily work to engineer the construction, with Honduran approval; select, procure and schedule materials; coordinate intensive two-week teams of eight to 10 locals working along side 15 U.S. volunteers and in teaching teams of volunteers so that they can further the work of Border Buddies Ministries.

JoAnna Scott graduated from Watkins Glen High School and completed the Cosmetology program at the Bush Education Center in 2001. She has lived independently since she was 16 years old and managed to maintain honor level grades as she pursued training in the career she had dreamed of since third grade.

After graduation, JoAnna began working at Regis Smartstyle in Watkins Glen, where she accepted her first management position after only one year of being in the field. In 2005, she relocated to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and began working for Great Clips, Pompadour Inc. She was quickly promoted up the ranks to her final position of district manager, overseeing seven salons. After returning to this area, JoAnna worked as a salon manager at Ulta Salon, Cosmetics and Fragrance in Horseheads.

In February 2011, JoAnna left Ulta to pursue her dream of opening a successful salon. She opened a small salon in Odessa. When the owner of the property sold the building later that year, she relocated to Montour Falls and opened Simply Your Best salon. The business opened with JoAnna as the only service professional. It has grown to include four employees and has extended its service menu to include hair, skin and nail services. JoAnna encourages a culture within her business that promotes strong customer service, great technical skills and a clean, family-friendly environment.

JoAnna enjoys working with current GST BOCES students by offering internship opportunities in her salon. She has a love for her community and volunteers her time and talents as a hair stylist for local plays, musicals and fashion shows. She has been a member of the Village of Odessa Planning Board since 2015.

Thu Tran attended school and earned a degree in electronical engineering in her native country, Vietnam. She arrived in the US in 1999 with no English language skills. Thu originally enrolled at GST BOCES through the Adult Education English as a Second Language program. As soon as she was able to read English and had expanded her vocabulary, she enrolled as an adult student in the secondary Cosmetology program at the Coopers campus. During her time as a GST BOCES student, Thu was inducted to the National Technical Honor Society and was selected as the New York Association for Continuing and Community Education Student of the Year.

After completing the Cosmetology program in 2009 and passing her licensing exams, Thu worked in several local salons including Beautiful Nails in Painted Post and Bella Capelli and Nail Tech in Corning. In 2012, she opened her own salon, Studio 2 Hair and Nail Salon, on Market Street in Corning. She currently employs two stylists who Thu trained to provide both hair and nail services.

Thu maintains a close relationship with the GST BOCES Cosmetology program. She provides internship opportunities for current students and participates as an employer in Employers' Day. She visits classes on the Coopers and Bush campuses to share her knowledge and the importance of a strong work ethic and customer service. Thu also serves on the GST BOCES Career and Technical Education Advisory Board to offer feedback and input in planning for future classes.