Graduation held at Medina County Jail for those who completed vocational training in food service

MEDINA — A graduation ceremony was held at the Medina County Jail on Tuesday for a group of incarcerated individuals who completed the IN2WORK vocational training in the field of food service. IN2WORK is a program created by Aramark that gives training in the fundamentals of food or retail warehouse services to people while they are incarcerated at the Medina County Jail. Those who finish the course receive a certificate during graduation. Aramark District Manager Melissa Gano said people in the program learn basic skills such as sanitation, temperature, inventory management and more through a curriculum-based course where there are lessons and quizzes. "If they were to go and apply to a restaurant outside of here, they would have the one up to go get a management role," she said. Aramark Food Service Manager Sabrina Mangin said the graduates manufactured and served three meals a day for 365 days a year to over 260 people. Mangin was one of the instructors for the program and said each student had initiative and was eager to learn. "They have more than just what it takes to be workers in a kitchen," she said. "They have what it takes now to be leaders in kitchens and leaders in life when they step off of this facility." Aramark wants to help incarcerated people find employment after they are released, Gano said. One goal of IN2WORK is to break the cycle of repeat offenses. "We hire felons. We hire folks that were once incarcerated," she said. "We practice what we preach." Medina County Sheriff Terry Grice congratulated the graduates and thanked those at Aramark and the jail who make IN2WORK possible. "This time in our facility doesn't have to define them," he said. "I think this program illustrates that. When they leave, now there's an opportunity to do something else, change associations (and) get on a new path." The graduates from the program are: Brandon Maki Mark Konrad Cody Jones Mark Dotson Mike Gatrell Ronald Workman Ian Jones Mark Johnson James Sears "They learned teamwork," Gano said. "They learned that work can be fun. They learned to follow through to finish something they want to achieve, and those things are priceless." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.