Inside the classroom, it’s not often that students have the opportunity to implement their outside skills. For students in Weightlifting and Leadership, they got an opportunity to show off their cooking skills and bring in their dish to the high school gymnasium as part of a new annual Freedom event.

Gym and weightlifting teacher Christopher Coennen has taught the class for the past four years to students who want a more experience in the weight room.

“The program is four years old, and it’s been taken to a level where kids were maxing out what they were getting from the class,” Coennen said. “The next step was teaching kids what was going into their bodies and how to regulate that and showing them that they can cook and use ingredients they wouldn’t normally use and have it still taste good.”

To assist with the event, chef Rich Jones from Pittsburgh Technical College came in to help prepare the kids with cooking healthier meals at home. He got the students talking about cooking, which would then spread home to the parents.

On the night of the event, tables were lined up in the gymnasium and students sat out their food for the other attendees to taste. Students weren’t the only ones in attendance; many community members attended as well.

“I was really excited for the turnout we got; I didn’t know if there was going to be 50 people or close to the 200 there were,” Coennen said.

Senior Noah Yeck was one of the participants of the night. For his dish, he made hot sausage with peppers.

“[The event] went well. I wish there were more people there, but for the first time, it was really good,” Yeck said.

Coennen plans for this occasion to be an annual event in Freedom with more attending in the future, along with more student participation.