North Carolina community colleges earn 56 medallions at national SkillsUSA Championships, represent third largest delegation at competition
North Carolina community colleges represented the third largest delegation at the SkillsUSA Championships in June, a series of career competition events showcasing the best career and technical education students in the nation.
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. Their mission is to empower students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders, and responsible community members.
More than 250 students from 22 community colleges in the state participated in the 59th Annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta. The North Carolina delegation included 520 students, teachers, parents, administrators, and competition team members.
“We are incredibly proud of our students and teachers for embodying our slogan of being Champions at work,” said Paul Heidepriem, SkillsUSA North Carolina Executive Director. “Our teachers are ensuring that the Framework of Personal, Workplace & Technical Skills are developed in each classroom.”
There were more than 110 competitions and North Carolina community college students earned 56 medallions – 17 gold, 24 silver, and 15 bronze. Events ranged from Collision Damage Appraisal to Mechatronics to T-shirt Design.
“The accomplishments our students display through SkillsUSA gives us an added confidence that these young men and women will be the leaders in the workforce of tomorrow. There is always a sense of pride when we see our students competing and succeeding,” said Dr. Tony Reggi, Associate Director of Career and Technical Education at the North Carolina Community College System.
Students from all 50 states plus Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands participated, consisting of more than 15,000 secondary and post-secondary students and advisors.
“Through Skills, students gain confidence in achieving personal and professional goals, competency that puts them ahead of others in seeking employment and leadership opportunities and the ability to contribute to the North Carolina, national, and global economies,” Reggi said.
In addition to excellence in competitive events, Nash Community College was selected as one of 24 national Models of Excellence, a distinction given to the top 24 chapters in the country.
“Over the last several years, our SkillsUSA team has been awarded Gold Chapter Distinction honors, but even greater this year, we have been named a Model of Excellence,” said Dr. Lew K. Hunnicutt, president of Nash Community College. “This honor shows that our curriculum, instructors, and SkillsUSA team continue to be dedicated to the best quality of framework skills that have a lasting impact on society.”
Below is a list of all award recipients from North Carolina community colleges.
2023 National Medalists
GOLD
3-D Visualization & Animation Curtis Jones & Elijah Poland, Forsyth Tech Community College
Collision Damage Appraisal Lauren Lewis, Guilford Tech Community College
Emergency Medical Technician Abigail Davis & Ana Dominguez-Arias, Guilford Tech Community College
Internetworking Rosalio Avalos, Central Carolina Community College
Outstanding Chapter Luis Gonzalez, Luke Reynolds & Marcus Sigmon, Catawba Valley Community College
Pin Design Suzanna Maxwell, Catawba Valley Community College
Residential & Commercial Appliance Technology Jesus Gonzalez-Pineda, Guilford Tech Community College
Screen Printing Benjamin Campbell, Catawba Valley Community College
Technical Computer Applications Benton Melvin, Craven Community College
Video News Production Michael Collins, Allie Flinchum, David Lytle & Jabari Taylor-Reid, Forsyth Tech Community College
SILVER
Architectural Drafting Oscar Avina-Rodriguez, Wake Tech Community College
Audio-Radio Production Jared Howard & Jestin Vertefeuille, Forsyth Tech Community College
Aviation Maintenance Technology Dustin Aldridge, Guilford Tech Community College
Career Pathways Showcase Industrial & Engineering Matthew Duff, Payden Kiser & Rafael Serrano-Acosta, Edgecombe Community College
CNC Programmer Paul Kozlowski, Johnston Community College
Customer Service Amelia Lier, Carteret Community College
Dental Assisting Daisee Ayscue, Guilford Tech Community College
Electronics Technology Josiah Carpenter, Nash Community College
Health Occupations Professional Portfolio Madison Luck, Guilford Tech Community College
Job Interview Hannah Nguyen, Nash Community College
Mechatronics Jeremiah Locklear & Angel Santiago, Robeson Community College
Medical Assisting Rebekah Pennington, Gaston College
Plumbing Brent Offenberger, Rowan Cabarrus Community College
Principles of Engineering-Technology Charles Myatt, Wake Tech Community College
Promotional Bulletin Board Claire Greene, Emma Maltba & Rosemary Moua, Catawba Valley Community College
Restaurant Service Madison Gore, Guilford Tech Community College
Sheet Metal Joshua Wood, Rowan Cabarrus Community College
T-Shirt Design Stella Hughes, Catawba Valley Community College
BRONZE
Advertising Design Scott Westmoreland, Catawba Valley Community College
Career Pathways Showcase Natural Resources/Agriculture Lucas Delp, Abigail Mullins & Danielle Taylor, Wilkes Community College
Commercial sUAS Drone Ashley Gaddy & Crystal Rice, Rowan Cabarrus Community College
Crime Scene Investigation Matthew Dukes, Grant Hardee & Michael Rousseau, Craven Community College
Medical Math Summer Mosteller, Cleveland Community College
Mobile Electronics Installation Lexus Susa, Carteret Community College
Mobile Robotics Technology James Bevel & Dakota London, Catawba Valley Community College
Robotics Urban Search & Rescue Micah Vang, Catawba Valley Community College
About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 as Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (V.I.C.A.) to strengthen our nation’s skilled workforce. Driven by employer demand, SkillsUSA helps students develop necessary personal and workplace skills along with technical skills grounded in academics. This SkillsUSA Framework empowers every student to succeed at work and in life, while helping to close the skills gap in which millions of positions go unfilled. Through SkillsUSA’s championships program and curricula, employers have ensured schools are teaching relevant technical skills, and with SkillsUSA’s new credentialing process, they can now assess how ready potential employees are for the job. SkillsUSA has hundreds of thousands of members nationwide in high schools, middle schools and colleges, covering over 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, and is recognized by the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor as integral to career and technical education. With the addition of our alumni, membership last year was over 400,000. SkillsUSA receives in-kind and financial support from more than 650 national partners. SkillsUSA has served more than 13.8 million members since 1965. For more information, go to SkillsUSA.org and SkillsUSAnc.org.
