RALEIGH, N.C. (April 30, 2024) – Wake Tech Career and Technical Education students excelled at the 2024 SkillsUSA North Carolina State Leadership & Skills Conference in Greensboro, bringing home an impressive 25 awards, including four first-place honors.

Two students – Cheval Batts (Advertising Design) and Hasten Goins (Architectural Drafting) qualified to compete at the national SkillsUSA competition June 24-28 in Atlanta. This the third straight year that Wake Tech students have qualified for nationals!

In all, 73 Wake Tech students from the Building Engineering & Skilled Technologies, Business & Professional Services Technologies, Information Technology, Transportation Technologies and Workforce Continuing Education divisions competed in a variety of categories. There were several new competitions, including Advertising Design, Adobe Visual Design, Welding Fabrication, Welding Sculpture, Electrical Construction Wiring and HVAC.

Wake Tech also took home a first-place award for Largest Individual Membership Growth Chapter-Postsecondary (college/university level).

Seventy-five high school students from Vernon Malone College and Career Academy (VMCCA), a Cooperative Innovative High School partnership between Wake Tech and the Wake County Public School System, also competed and received 26 awards. Eight students in four competitions (Entrepreneurship, Interactive Application & Video Game Creation, Nurse Assisting and Welding) qualified to compete in the national competition.

"We had more students compete at this year's conference than ever before, and we are really proud of all of them," said Albert Brewer Jr., dean of the Engineering & Trades Division. "The added competitions give more students at both the high school and college level a chance to demonstrate skills they will eventually take to the workforce."  

Wake Tech results:

Advertising Design

• Cheval Batts, first place
• Rocio Quirino-Alvarez, second place

Adobe Visual Design (state only competition)

• Camryn Jamison, first place

Architectural Drafting

• Hasten Goins, first place
• Alfonso Mercado, second place
• Mia Grotevant, third place
• Jimmy Chavez-Perez, fourth place
• Glenn MacCormick, fifth place

Automotive Tool ID (state only competition)

• Cael Fauceglia, fourth place
• Noah Howard, fifth place

CNC 3-Axis Milling Specialist

• Ethan Hulstedt, third place
• Gavin Royce, fourth place

Collision Damage Appraisal

• Travis Williams, third place
• Crystal Pena, fourth place

Collision Repair Technology

• Dujon Franz, fifth place

Cosmetology

• Bianca Martinez Torres, third place
• Heidy Useche Borrero, fifth place

Electronics Technology

• Garrett Skaar, third place

Esthetics

• Kaiya Bunting, fifth place

Job Skill Demonstration

• Gregory Czika, second place

Mechatronics

• Alexander Barile and Taylor Schoentrup, second place

Skill Project Showcase: Cosmetology (state only competition)

• Yasmine Munoz Solis and Maria Suarez, second place
• Ezra Marryle Nunag, third place
• Zarya James, fifth place

VMCCA results:

Collision Repair Technology

• Desmond Sanders, second place
• Anastasiya Kravets, fourth place

Cosmetology Beginner Skills

• Jennifer Marin, second place
• Daniela Morales, fourth place

Cosmetology Fantasy Hair & Makeup

• Natalie Mauricio, first place

Cosmetology Hair Color

• Samiya Cohen, third place

Cosmetology Natural Hair Design and Braids

• Nicole Jackson, third place
• Vale Rojas-Ayala, fifth place

Cosmetology

• Christelle Espinosa, second place
• Samantha Medina-Mead, third place

Cosmetology Skill Project Showcase

• Kimberly Patricio and Morgan Scott, first place

Heating, Ventilation, AC & Refrigeration

• Tyler Alston, fifth place

Electrical Construction Wiring I

• June Strickland, third place

Entrepreneurship

• Kameron Coleman, Jayden Lamb, Samuel Ndianefo and Kyra Stringfield, first place

First Aid-CPR

• Gabriel Eligio, fourth place

Interactive Application and Video Game Creation

• Janelle Anokye and Sofia Craft, first place
• Madison Stokes and Shaniah Taylor, second place

Medical Terminology

• Brianna Pippen, second place
• Makayla Jones, fifth place

Nurse Assisting

• Keony Sagrero, first place
• Terri Smith, second place
• Vaibhavi Shanker, third place
• Madelyn Portillo, fifth place

Welding

• Kaden Quinn, first place

Welding Fabrication

• Kenan Batchelor, Abraham Glenn and Chase Hampton, fifth place

Welding Skill Project Showcase

• Damion Spooner, third place

November 2024

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