Georgia Piedmont Technical College students won big during the 50th Annual SkillsUSA Leadership and Skills Conference held in Kansas City, Missouri. The school had a phenomenal showing with students winning gold, silver and bronze medals.
Each summer thousands of secondary and post-secondary students from around the country attend the SkillsUSA conference to vie for coveted national recognition and prizes, including scholarships. The competition begins with state competitions held in the spring and concludes in the summer at the organization’s national conference. All competitors at the national level are first-place winners from their respective states and must interview and submit a resume as a requirement of the competition. A perk of attendance is the spontaneous employment interview requests contestants often receive as industry representatives use the event to scout for workers.
GPTC students received the First Place Gold Medal in the Career Pathways (Human Services) Competition. This team also received the Curtis Bell Award of Excellence, a prestigious award that is given to the team with the highest score for the State of Georgia. Our GPTC Gold medalists are: Thelma Clark-Thomas, Mechelle Davis and Jerel Keon Williams.
The Silver Medal was awarded in the Promotional Bulletin Board Competition by GPTC student Darrante Patterson. A Bronze Medal in Customer Service was received by GPTC student Schwann Brown-Richardson. In addition, Bronze Medals in the Occupational Health and Safety (Multiples) Competition, were received by GPTC students Shalena Chambers, Michael O’Neal, and NiKeion Wynn.
The following students were also recognized in the top 10 percent of their competitive event. Recognized in the National Chapter Business Procedures Competition were GPTC students, Sha’Vonna Garr, Josiah Kringer, Punya Mardhanan, Sedrick Mayfield, Quienna Thompson, and Mycael Spear.
We also acknowledge GPTC student Stephanie Reddick, who competed in the Health Occupational Professional Portfolio Competition and GPTC student Tabatha Walker, who competed in the Advertising Design Competition. In addition to winning medals, Georgia Piedmont Technical College students Punya Mardhanan and Quienna Thompson worked diligently in their “elected positions” as SkillsUSA Georgia Postsecondary State Officers.
President Jabari Simama lauds the organization’s comprehensive approach to supporting technical instruction and skill development. “The SkillsUSA leadership and skills conference is one of the best forums technical educational institutions can use to evaluate the efficacy of our programs. As promoters of innovation and major contributors to America’s workforce, it is imperative that we make certain the instruction we provide our students can compete on the national level. We are very proud of all our student competitors,” stated Dr. Simama.
There were many GPTC faculty and staff members who played a major role in the success of our students during this year’s National competition. Christine Hamilton served in a dual role as the GPTC SkillsUSA Advisor and as a SkillsUSA State Officer Advisor. Theresa Snagg served as a Judge for the Medical Assisting and Practical Nursing Competition. Cory Thompson served as a Judge for the Television Production Competition, and Candice Jones and Shirley Pace served as Judges for the Community Service Project Competition.
