Students win medals at SkillsUSA contest

Two teams of students from Sussex County Technical School earned national recognition and medals at the 2023 SkillsUSA Championships, held in Atlanta on June 21-22.

Team I, consisting of Samantha Masih and Grace Revoredo, was awarded the high school gold medal in Commercial sUAS Drone.

Team M, consisting of Evan VanderGoof, Maximous Masih and Bruno Martinez, was awarded the high school silver medal in Automated Manufacturing Technology.

More than 6,000 students competed at the national showcase of career and technical education.

The SkillsUSA Championships is the largest skill competition in the world and covers 1.79 million square feet, equivalent to 31 football fields.

A total of 1,250 gold, silver and bronze medals were presented to students June 23. Many winners also received industry prizes, tools of their trade or scholarships.

Skill Point Certificates were awarded to the national medalists for meeting a threshold score in their event as an indicator of proficiency and workplace readiness.

Students were invited to the event based on their outstanding state-level performance in career competitions held in the spring.

At the SkillsUSA Championships, each student demonstrated technical, workplace and personal skills in one of 110 hands-on competitions, including robotics, automotive technology, drafting, criminal justice, aviation maintenance and public speaking.

Industry leaders from 650 businesses, corporations, trade associations and unions planned and evaluated the contestants against their standards for entry-level workers.

More than 1,200 industry judges and technical committee members participated this year.

“This showcase of career and technical education demonstrates SkillsUSA at its finest. Our students, instructors and industry partners work together to ensure that every student excels,” said Chelle Travis, SkillsUSA executive director.

The SkillsUSA Championships event is held annually for students in middle school, high school or college/post-secondary programs as part of the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference.