SoMD Students compete in 2023 Regional SkillsUSA Challenge

The Dr. James A. Forrest Career & Technology Center in Leonardtown, MD, was the venue for the Maryland SkillsUSA Southern Regional Competition held on Saturday, February 11, 2023. The event was attended by students from the Forrest Center (FCTC) in St. Mary’s County, the Career & Technology Academy (CTA) in Calvert County, North Point High School (NP), and the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center (Stethem) in Charles County. The competition showcased a broad range of skilled trades, with students participating in various contests.

SkillsUSA is a non-profit national education association that brings together students, teachers, and industry leaders to ensure America has a skilled workforce and to help each student excel. The organization serves middle-school, high-school, and college/postsecondary students preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations. According to its website, SkillsUSA’s mission is to empower its members to become world-class workers, leaders, and responsible American citizens.

Students who secured the first, second, and third places in each competition will advance to the state conference, which is part of the SkillsUSA Maryland State Leadership and Skills Conference. The event will take place on March 24-25, 2023, in the Anne Arundel County and Baltimore areas. Students who participated in state-only competitions will also advance to the state conference.

To accommodate students who could not participate due to low turnout or the lack of programs in their respective career fields at other high schools, some competitions were conducted locally at the respective schools. The local competitions were completed before the regional date, and the school has been noted for the same. In some schools, the top three students will proceed straight to the state conference.

The Maryland SkillsUSA Southern Regional Competition was a successful event, providing students with a platform to showcase their skills and compete with their peers. The participants, along with their teachers and mentors, now look forward to the state conference, where they will meet like-minded individuals and further hone their abilities in a competitive environment.

Contests results are as follows:

Advertising Design

• Gold:  Blake Brady, FCTC
• Silver:  Shyla Allgood, NP
• Bronze:  Yuki Ruiz, NP

Architectural Drafting

• Gold:  Nerissa Zobell, FCTC
• Silver:  Andrew Bethen, NP
• Bronze:  Sean Cooper, FCTC

Automotive Maintenance & Light Repair

• Gold:  Thomas Marshall, CTA
• Silver:  Aidan Klinc, NP
• Bronze:  Joshua Jones, NP

Automotive Service Technology

• Gold:  Angel Guzman, CTA
• Silver:  Brandon Gordon, NP
• Bronze:  Austin Howard, Stethem

Baking and Pastry Arts

• Gold:  Anna Tripp, FCTC
• Silver:  Tanner Gaton, CTA
• Bronze:  Danielle Washington, NP

Basic Health Care Skills

• Gold:  Manmeet Kaur, Stethem
• Silver:  Gracie Hutton, FCTC
• Bronze:  Amalachukwu Okaye, Stethem

Carpentry

• Gold:  Connor Wise, FCTC
• Silver:  Kasey Wheeler, FCTC
• Bronze:  Nathaniel Miliken, CTA

Cosmetology (CTA Only)

• Gold:  Adley Paau Pesquara, CTA
• Silver:  Lacey Hancock, CTA
• Bronze:  Casey Bowen, CTA

Crime Scene Investigation (CSI)

• Gold:  Gizelle Swann, Harlee Keen, & Kaelyn Buoy, NP
• Silver:  Madison Hurd, Aubrey Quiambas, & Aaliyah Davis, NP
• Bronze:  Amber Brown, Emma Hall, & Breanna Doyle, CTA

Criminal Justice

• Gold:  Keirstin Perez, NP
• Silver:  Madison Cookey, FCTC
• Bronze:  Aaron Sellow, NP

Culinary Arts

• Gold:  Jacob Adamson, CTA
• Silver:  Amy Ontko, CTA
• Bronze:  Quinn Maloit, CTA

Digital Cinema Production

• Gold: Levi Maiers & Victoria McCreary, CTA
• Silver:  Taylor Hill & Catherine Smith, Stethem
• Bronze:  Sam Hall & Blake Hill, CTA

Electrical Construction Wiring

• Gold:  Victor Peña, NP
• Silver:  Matthew Strickland, FCTC
• Bronze:  Colton Raley, FCTC

Emergency Medical Technician

• Gold:  Caroline Robinson & Travis Winston, CTA
• Silver:  Christopher Bell & Kaelyn White, FCTC
• Bronze:  Hunter King & Kaileigh Weems, CTA

Firefighting

• Gold:  Riley Kulikowski, CTA
• Silver:  Cody Davenport, CTA
• Bronze:  Nick Boswell, CTA

First Aid/CPR

• Gold:  Amanda Hill, FCTC
• Silver:  Gabrielle Hicks, FCTC
• Bronze:  Amelia Whittington, FCTC

HVAC

• Gold:  William Walton, CTA
• Silver:  Jeffrey Wink, CTA
• Bronze:  Connor Finnegan, CTA

Internetworking

• Gold:  Amulya Akula, NP
• Silver:  Camille Van Erp, FCTC
• Bronze:  Weston Carr, FCTC

Nurse Assisting

• Gold:  Averi Lewis, CTA
• Silver:  Ali Alameer, FCTC
• Bronze:  Matthew Bowie, CTA

Sheet Metal

• Gold:  Luke Stevens, CTA
• Silver:  Nathan Lagimoniere, CTA
• Bronze:  Austin Crouse, CTA

TeamWorks (CTA Only)

• Gold:  Gariela Mejia Moran, Mason Kidwell, Tyler Smith, & Logan Kinner, CTA
• Silver:  Andrew Wroten, Ashley Zachary, Cameron Bowen, and Kira Paau, CTA

Technical Drafting

• Gold:  John Shorb, FCTC
• Silver:  Michael Owens, FCTC
• Bronze:  Jeff Martines, FCTC

Photography (CTA Only)

• Gold:  Nathan Coston, CTA
• Silver:  Waylon Trigger, CTA
• Bronze:  Charles Smith, CTA

Plumbing

• Gold:  Robert Phipps, CTA
• Silver:  Kaden Walp, CTA
• Bronze:  Jose Rodriguez, Stethem

Many industry partners volunteered their time creating, chairing, and judging competitions.  Some donated supplies and materials for the competitions and prizes for the medalists.  Thank you for your time and donation(s):

• Local 26 Joint Apprenticeship Training Center (JATC)
• Staff members from Medstar Hospital
• Volunteers from the local Fire & Rescue Squads
• Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department for hosting our Firefighting competition.
• Staff members from the St. Mary’s, Charles, and Calvert County Sheriff’s Department
• Staff members from the College of Southern Maryland
• Staff members from the St. Mary’s County Government
• Leonardtown Collision Center
• WM Davis General Contractor
• Calvert Broadcast
• Queen Anne’s County Television
• Many staff members from St. Mary’s, Charles, and Calvert County Public Schools