Dylan Perry, an alumnus from Islip High School’s Class of 2021, recently returned to the school’s family and consumer sciences room, where his journey began. Perry shared his experiences of pursuing culinary arts at Keiser University, where he graduated last year, and his travels to Calabria, Italy, to dive deeper into Italian cuisine for three months. While sharing his inspiring story, he showcased his skills for the FACS students by preparing bruschetta and tiramisu. Perry expressed how teacher Alexandra Catalano and the Islip High School FACS program played a crucial role in inspiring him to pursue a career in the culinary arts.

“Having Chef Dylan as a guest speaker in my Baking and Pastry Arts II class was a great experience,” Catalano said. “It was nice to meet an Islip graduate who went through the FACS program here at Islip. He became a chef at just 20 years old.”
His visit definitely had an impact on the school’s current students.

“It gave me motivation and hope to succeed in the baking and pastry arts program at Johnson and Wales that I will attend in the fall,” senior Michael Sanko said.

“I was always torn between two careers, culinary or chemistry,” junior Justin Sarmiento said. “Hearing Chef Dylan’s story of traveling to Italy to study culinary arts really inspired me to pursue my dreams of becoming a chef.”

Date Added: 5/21/2024