VALDOSTA – Wiregrass Georgia Tech students recently attended the 52nd Annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference held in Louisville, KY on June 20-24. More than 6,000 students competed in 100 different trade, technical and leadership fields. Students worked against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations such as electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts. All competitions are designed, run and judged with the help of industry, trade associations, and labor organizations, and test competencies are set using industry standards.
Top student winners received gold, silver and bronze medallions. Many also received prizes such as tools of their trade or scholarships to further their careers and education. The SkillsUSA Championship is for high-school and college-level students who are members of the 360,000-member SkillsUSA organization.
Wiregrass student Peyton Sutton (Fitzgerald) won a silver medal in HVAC and Refrigeration, and Chadwick Clements (Fitzgerald) won a silver medal in Residential System Installation. Both students received prize packages of high end tools, specific to their trade, valued at $1500-$2000.
Wiregrass was also represented in the following competitions: Digital Cinema Production – Jeremy Johnson (Valdosta), Gabe Freeland (Valdosta); Digital Cinema Production Actor – Kevin Sadler (Adel), Nick Ambrozic (Valdosta); Automotive Refinishing – Kelvin Adams (Valdosta); Collision Repair Technology – Dakota Knudsen (Lakeland); First Aid/CPR – Tiffany Stalvey (Homerville); Firefighting – Austin Meeler (Valdosta); Sheet Metal – Jesse Daniel (Douglas); Health Knowledge Bowl – Dana Brown (Valdosta), Kayla Goble (Valdosta), Katie Jennings (Valdosta), and Ashley Yelm (Valdosta).
SkillsUSA is a wonderful experience for all involved,” said Kelley Wetherington, Student Activities Coordinator. “We are proud of all of our students for representing Wiregrass Georgia Tech at the national, state, and regional levels. We have some pretty amazing students who worked hard and represented us well. Not only did our students work hard, so did our instructors. They went above and beyond to prepare our students for their competitions.”
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. It is a national nonprofit organization serving teachers, high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skills service occupations, including health occupations. The Skills USA program hosts local, state, and national competition for students to showcase their skills learned through hands-on training in the classroom.
Front Row, l-r, – Peyton Sutton, Tiffany Stalvey, Katie Jennings, Dana Brown, and Kayla Goble
Second Row, l-r, – Kelley Wetherington (Student Activities Coordinator), Chadwick Clements, Roy Bramley (Auto Collision Repair Instructor), Scott Watson (Air Conditioning Program Coordinator), Mark Whitson (Auto Collision Repair Program Coordinator), Toby Heard (Automotive Repair Technology Instructor), Jeremy Johnson, and Kevin Sadler
Third Row, l-r, – Austin Meeler, Gabe Freeland, Kelvin Adams, Dakota Knudsen, Jessie Daniel, Nick Ambrozic, Mark Ponder (EMS/Paramedic Instructor), and Jim Goodson (Department Chair for Professional Services/Fire Science Technology Program Coordinator)
Back Row – Joey Thompson (EMS/Paramedic Program Coordinator)
