Students sat around properly set tables at Empower College and Career Center, each with a glazed donut on their plate. But this wasn’t a typical snack break. With forks and knives in hand, the students were about to spend the next few minutes learning something many had never done before: eating with proper dining etiquette. 

“It took them a minute,” said Catie Lees, EMR instructor in the healthcare sciences pathway at Empower. “They were like, ‘Oh yeah,’ as they realized you hold the fork with your left hand, cut with your right, put the knife down, switch the fork to your right hand, and take one bite. Then start over.” 

The scene was part of Empower’s newest student seminar offering: “Polished and Prepared: Building Professional Confidence Through Table Etiquette and Manners.” With support from a $400 grant from HireSmart Cares, Lees partnered with work-based learning coordinator Kate Wilson to create a hands-on dining etiquette experience that prepares students for scholarship dinners, college interviews, business meetings, and other professional situations where proper table manners matter. 

The HireSmart Cares grant covers supplies for four sessions during the 2025-26 school year, approximately $100 per session for tablecloths, plates, cups, napkins, donuts, and juice. Empower offers the etiquette seminar twice each semester as part of its seminar series, where students choose from about a dozen different offerings each month, such as sign language instruction, crocheting, resume writing, floral arranging, basic auto mechanics, and college application assistance. Wilson said the variety creates a culture where students genuinely look forward to the monthly sessions. 

The formal “donut” dinner session, which was open to all Empower students, resonated immediately. As students worked through their donuts during the November seminar, other students walking past to different sessions took notice. 

“Kids are walking by, and they’re like, ‘We should have done this. What does that mean? We gotta’ come next time,'” said Wilson. “It was like, ‘What are you going to? ‘I’m going to etiquette.’ ‘What are you going to?’ ‘I’m going to apply for college.'” 

The etiquette lesson directly supports Georgia’s Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) Standard 1, which focuses on professionalism and career readiness. At Empower, students receive extensive preparation for workplace success through mock interviews, resume writing, and professional skills training. The etiquette seminar adds another essential layer. 

Each session accommodates 25-to-30 students and covers fundamental skills: proper table settings, napkin use and placement, correct utensil use, appropriate posture, and how to handle mistakes gracefully. Students also learn the difference between dining for nourishment and dining as part of a professional or social experience. 

“We talked about how at a formal dinner whether you’re at a nonprofit dinner or some gala, you’re there for the experience,” said Wilson. “The dining is just a small part of that.” 

The progression Lees and Wilson envision builds skills over multiple sessions, giving students repeated practice and increasingly sophisticated scenarios, such as how to engage in appropriate dinner conversation in a professional setting. 

HireSmart Cares supports workforce development initiatives that help students develop the professional skills they need to succeed. The table etiquette program at Empower College and Career Center represents exactly the kind of practical, hands-on learning that prepares students not just for jobs, but for careers and community engagement that require social confidence alongside technical skills. 

To learn more about Empower, visit empower.jacksonschools.ga. To learn more about HireSmart Cares, visit hiresmartcares.org.