Wiregrass Georgia Tech students recently attended the 51^th Annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference held in Louisville, KY on June 22 through 26.  Industry leaders representing more than 600 businesses, corporations, trade associations and unions recognized the students for demonstrating excellence in 100 hands-on occupational and leadership competitions, such as robotics, criminal justice, aviation maintenance and public speaking. All competitions are designed, run and judged by industry 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 Championships is for high-school and college-level students who are members of the 360,000-member SkillsUSA organization.

Students participating in the competitions included Brooke Davis, Hannah Stephens, and Ashley Walls, Fitzgerald, in Crime Scene Investigation; Jesse Daniel, Douglas, in Sheet Metal; David Owen, Valdosta, in Firefighter; Talarie Giddens, Valdosta, Esthetics; Jordan Williams, Valdosta, Esthetics Model; Justin Sims, Dasher, Auto Collision Repair; Chadwick Clements, Fitzgerald, Residential Systems Installation; Michael Deen, Omega,  in Mobile Electronics; Michael Ricks, Tifton, in Telecommunications Cabling.

Michael Ricks won a silver medal in Telecommunications Cabling, and Chadwick Clements won a gold in Residential System Installation.

“SkillsUSA is a wonderful experience for all involved,” said Kelley Wetherington, interim student activities coordinator. “We are proud of all of our students for representing Wiregrass Georgia Tech so well at the national, state, and regional levels. They are all outstanding students and each is a winner. Not only did our students work hard to prepare for this competition, but our instructors worked hard getting our students skills set ready.”

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.

For more information about SkillsUSA, please contact Kelley Wetherington, interim student activities coordinator, at [email protected] or (229) 333-2100 ext.1237.