Weir High students competed in Skills USA at Fairmont University on March 23, and 7 students placed.
Those that attended were Natalia Vella (graphic design), Juliaunna Campbell (therapeutics), Caitlyn Pedrotti (baking and pastry), Jack Crago (diesel), James Fletcher (diesel), Joseph Fletcher (welding), Juliana Anderson (carpentry), Kylie Dunmyer (carpentry), Landon Southall (graphic design), Megan Dunmyer (therapeutics), Gianna Truax (therapeutics), Rylie Straight (graphic design), Megan Gaston (therapeutics), and Dawson Evans (diesel).
These students have been working extremely hard the past few months to get ready to compete in their chosen competitions.
Those who placed from Weir High are Juliaunna Campbell, Kylie Dunmyer, Rylie Straight, Megan Gaston, Natalia Vella, Jack Crago, and Dawson Evans. Juliaunna, Dawson, and Natalia all placed gold in their events. Juliaunna and Dawson will move on to nationals to compete with the winner from every state in their event.
Jack Crago placed silver in showcase welding scrap as a first-year student in diesel. Kylie Dunmyer and Rylie Straight both placed bronze in Chapter display as first year graphic design and carpentry students. Megan Gaston, a first year in therapeutics, placed bronze in job-skill demonstration open.
In preparation for the Nursing Assistant competition Juliaunna Campbell practiced every school day and studied on her free time to perfect her skills on everything that could be in her competition. Juliaunna placed gold in nursing assistant and will be competing in Atlanta, Georgia against every state’s winner. Juliaunna is a second-year student in the therapeutics program and is also a senior at Weir High.
Juliaunna stated, “I felt really excited and relieved about winning gold because I studied so hard and was stressing myself out. When it came to preparation I did a lot of studying such as reading my book and working in our nursing lab at the JDRCC.”
Dawson Evans received the gold medal in the employment application process contest. This contest requires students to complete a job application and participate in an interview before a panel of judges. Dawson is a sophomore and is also a first-year student in the Diesel program at the JDR.
When asked about his experience at Skills Dawson said, “I had a great experience during skills it was overwhelming at times and I would definitely do it over again if given the chance.” For being a first year to win gold is a big deal and an amazing achievement.
Natalia Vella is a junior at weir high and is also a second-year student in graphic design. This is Natalia’s second year attending SkillsUSA, her first year she received a silver medal, and this year received a gold medal for showcase photography.
Natalia said, “I was enormously proud of myself, and it was overwhelming happiness. I was prepared by making sure I had everything I needed to, and a presentation if needed. There were sometimes that was incredibly stressful and irritating, but overall, it was a lot of fun and an incredible experience for my completing year.”
Natalia’s contest was not a national competition so she will not advance but she did an amazing job at states.
Skills USA is a national competition where CTE programs across America and the US territories compete in various programs and create a skilled generation that is ready to enter the workforce. First students compete statewide, or county wide if there’s multiple CTE schools within a county, then the top finalists within the state will move onto nationals which is held in Atlanta, Georgia.
Skills USA’s mission statement is, “To empower students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders, and responsible community members.” Instructors can choose students that they believe would be best for certain competitions. Instructors most commonly send the top of their class to compete for the chance of going to nationals.
Everyone who won gold this year got a $2000 scholarship for Fairmont University. Besides winning, going to compete is a wonderful experience to make new friends, learn more about the field you are competing in, and get to know if you want to compete in the following year.
Kylie Dunmyer, Rylie Straight, and an Oak Glen Student made a visual of the theme of Skills, which is “The sky is the limit” and received third place. As first year students this is a very good achievement and can compete next year knowing more then they did this year.
CTE classes continue to grow with more students interested in these careers. Skills takes what you’ve learned and tests you and also helps you build leadership and grow in your field of education. Everyone who went did their best and should be proud of themselves.
Congratulations to everyone that went and especially to those who received gold and will be heading to Atlanta, Georgia to compete at Nationals!
