SkillsUSA sends competitors to nationals
Easter reminds all of us of the upcoming spring. Acworth celebrated the holiday by hosting The Easter Egg Hunt at Kennworth Park.
March 22, 2016
The NC SkillsUSA team competed at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta from March 17-19. Four teams brought home gold medals, receiving their ticket to the national championship in Louisville.
NC won gold in the SkillsUSA Georgia Commercial, Sports Highlight Video, Mechanical Drafting Display, and Career Pathway Showcase: Science, Technology, and Math categories.
“It was my first year in Skills and I’m so grateful my team won state. Most high schoolers never get the experience of getting first, I’m very excited to move on to nationals,” sophomore Joshua Dawson said, apart of the Georgia Commercial team.
Georgia State President for SkillsUSA, Lexi Medina, gives a speech for the closing ceremony for the last time.
Senior Melissa Hines and sophomore Jules Shelly teamed up with Dawson to take up the gold medal for the Georgia Commercial category. Sophomores Travon Crawford and Teddy Wachaga brought home gold for Sports Highlight Video to NC, along with juniors Thomas Fitzgerald and Brant Farmer for Mechanical Drafting and senior Jordin Montoya, junior Marc Alano, and freshman Patrick Wright for Career Pathway Showcase: Science, Technology, and Math.
“The year for SkillsUSA has been a special one for me and other seniors. The group of people we took to the conference made the trip uniquely special. All that was topped off with placing first for my competition and heading to nationals this just at Louisville,” Montoya said.
SkillsUSA members first took the PDP test, otherwise known as the Personal Development Program. Their performance on this affected the judging for who wins each category. The next day, members then left to compete against other schools all over Georgia. Other categories represented by NC included Broadcast News Production, Architectural Drafting, Cabinet Making, Plumbing, and Audio and Radio Technology.
“It was such a fun experience and I’m so glad my team won second place. Next year we’ll be ready to bring home the gold,” junior Natalia Tureata said, member of the Chapter Recruitment Video team.
Along with this team winning second, Digital Cinema won silver as well, and senior Kianna Franks won bronze for Criminal Justice.
“Despite having loads of fun, it was so sad to say goodbye to my fellow SkillsUSA officers. I can’t wait to take what I’ve learned from these conventions into college,” senior Lexi Medina said.
The SkillsUSA national championship takes place in Louisville, Kentucky from June 20-24. Students interested in joining Skills should contact drafting teacher Michael Barcarse.
