The Humber College community is getting behind recent graduate Emma Kilgannon and will be cheering her on from afar as she heads to Europe to represent the college and the country at the WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition.

Kilgannon, who graduated from Humber College’s Baking and Pastry Arts Management program in April, is travelling to Lucerne, Switzerland as one of more than a dozen competitors in the Pâtisserie and Confectionery division. The WorldSkills competition runs October 10 to 15 and will have participants creating sugar and chocolate work using edible materials designed to delight the eyes and tastebuds.

Kilgannon previously won gold in the same division at the Skills Canada National Competition in May, which she qualified for after finishing first in the Baking division at the 2022 Virtual Skills Ontario Competition.

She’s been training for WorldSkills since August with mentor Stefanie Francavilla, a former student at Humber, and estimates she’s spending upwards of 50 hours a week preparing. A large amount of that is spent in Humber’s facilities.

“It’s been a lot of hard work leading up to this moment – sometimes I feel like I’m living on the Humber campus,” said Kilgannon. “However, I know all of the hard work will pay off soon enough and I feel as though I have already learned so much from this adventure.”

Humber held a reception earlier this month to honour Kilgannon’s achievements and to wish her well ahead of WorldSkills. She was also presented with a Humber flag signed by members of the Humber community.

“It fills me with so much joy to see our students and alumni excelling in the fields that they love,” said Humber President and CEO, Dr. Ann Marie Vaughan, at a send-off celebration for Kilgannon. “Humber College is committed to supporting our students to be ready to succeed in their chosen careers and Emma is a wonderful example of that commitment at work. Emma, the Hawks community is behind you 100 per cent as you get ready to face the world in Switzerland and we wish you the best of luck.”

For the competition, Kilgannon will have to create two entremets, a sugar stand, two marzipan figurines, 14 chocolate bonbons, and a chocolate presentation piece.  

“I’m really looking forward to heading to Lucerne to compete and I know it will be a very special experience,” said Kilgannon. “I also want to give a huge thank you to everyone at Humber who has been supporting me throughout my training. I’m extremely grateful to have so many people helping me out along my journey.”

You can find out more about WorldSkills by visiting the competition’s website.