2022 Exeter Job Corps Academy Graduate Sabina Ulysse named “Student of the Year”

The RI Hospitality Association (RIHA) and RI Hospitality Education Foundation (RIHEF) recently named East Providence, RI resident Sabina Ulysse, a 2022 graduate of the Exeter Job Corps Academy’s ProStart program, as the 2022 recipient of the “Student of the Year Award” at the 32nd Annual Stars of the Industry Awards Ceremony at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC).

Ulysse, a native of Haiti, has lived in the United States since 2018. At a young age, she moved to France with her grandmother and learned the art of cooking from her grandmother and cousins. After coming to the United States with her father, she enrolled at the Edison Job Corps in Edison, New Jersey in July of 2019. There, she built upon her love of cooking by entering the basic culinary arts program.

After graduating from Edison in April of 2021, Ulysse extended her Job Corps experience by joining the Advanced Culinary program at the Exeter Job Corps Academy in Rhode Island. While at Exeter, she worked two summers at George’s of Galilee in Narragansett where she demonstrated her outstanding work ethic and dedication to her team. Under the direction of Chef Mark Bennison, Ulysse and her teammates won the culinary portion of the Rhode Island ProStart® Competition; an adaptation of their award-winning pistachio-crusted lamb chops were featured on the menu at Gregg’s Restaurants & Taverns in May of 2022.

“Sabina has done an incredible job putting the skills she’s acquired through her studies to work,” said Dale J. Venturini, President/CEO, RI Hospitality Association (RIHA)/RI Hospitality Education Foundation (RIHEF). “She is an inspiration to the ProStart® students coming up after her, and we are proud to honor her with this award.”