The NC SkillsUSA chapter took place in the Region 3 Championships on Friday, February 9 at the Atlanta Technical College. The chapter members spent months harnessing their craft to ensure they would advance to the State Leadership and Skills Conference (SLSC) later this year in March.

“The chapter members have been preparing for a while now on their competitions, so it’s exciting to see everyone compete against the regions best,” SkillsUSA adviser Michael Barcarse said.

NC’s students competed in various trades, such as construction sectors including Cabinet Making and Plumbing, engineering sectors with Technical and Architectural Drawing, and communication sectors like Broadcast News Production.

With a 7:45 am departure from Kennesaw Mountain High School, the chapter members rode in a bus that sat in Atlanta traffic for over an hour as they anticipated their arrival to the Atlanta Technical College. As the group arrived, they unloaded all their competition gear, registered into their competitions, then went to their respected rooms to set up.

As the competitions began, junior Patrick Duckett felt confident to reclaim his status as the best cabinet maker in the whole region.

“If I go in with the right mindset and goals, no one in this competition can beat me,” Duckett said.

When the competitions ended, all the competitors received a meal ticket for a lunch prepared by the NC Culinary Arts students. They could choose from egg salad, turkey, ham, or pimento cheese sandwiches.

After lunch, the judges compiled all of the scores from the competitors and tallied the first, second, and third place winners. NC came out on top at the awards ceremony, gaining a total of six medals, including four first place medals. Every member of the NC chapter that competed at the region championships will move on to the State Leadership and Skills Conference in March.

First Place in Extemporaneous Speaking – Junior Nathaniel Kem

First Place in Cabinet Making – Junior Patrick Duckett

First Place in Job Interview – Junior Savanna Martin

First Place in Architectural Drawing – Senior Autumn Larkins

Second Place in Plumbing – Senior Nolan Moore

Third Place in Technical Drawing – Senior Michael Dollar

Top 16 in the State for Broadcast News Production – Senior Turner Markwalter, juniors Emily Lapierre and Zion Finch, and senior Jules Shelley.

Now, with the state conference in sight, Moore wants to complete his plumbing dynasty, winning his third straight state first place title in the plumbing competition.

“If I can complete this dynasty, I should go down as the best high school plumber to ever exist,” Moore said.

If interested in representing NC at the SLSC Conference in March, stop by Mr. Barcarse’s room in 804 to receive proper information.