ROSENBERG — Texas State Technical College students earned a total of 47 medals — 18 gold, 15 silver and 14 bronze — during the recent statewide SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary Leadership and Skills Conference in Houston.
The three-day competition ended Saturday, April 9, with a closing ceremony in Pasadena that included awards and prizes.
“Congratulations to everyone here,” Crystal Latham-Alford, executive director of SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary, said to students and advisors at the start of the closing ceremony. “We were (away for) two years in the pandemic and you all came back swinging harder than ever. I can only imagine what we’re going to do next year.”
Students who win gold medals move on to compete in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in late June in Atlanta, Georgia.
James Walker, of Hughes Springs, won the gold medal in Industrial Motor Control. He is an Automation and Controls Technology student at TSTC’s Marshall campus.
Walker said he was not used to being away from home for so long with his family not around. He said he enjoyed the mathematics portion of the contest and looks forward to traveling to Atlanta.
Walker said he prepared for the competition by doing more challenging labs in his classes. He chose to take part in SkillsUSA to include the experience on his resume.
Destiny Roberts, an Emergency Medical Services student at TSTC’s Brownwood campus, earned a silver medal in the First Aid-CPR competition.
“It was a fun experience — you get to learn new things and be around new people,” she said of her time at SkillsUSA.
Michael Cole, a Culinary Arts student at TSTC’s Waco campus, agreed.
“It’s really cool to meet a lot of other people with the same passion and drive as you,” he said, adding that he participated in the Restaurant Service competition. “These competitions are for people with the drive to go further.”
Isela Munoz, a Vocational Nursing student at TSTC’s Harlingen campus, participated in the Medical Math and Medical Terminology competitions.
“Overall, it was nerve-wracking,” she said. “We want to win, but we’re also just here to do our best.”
Munoz went on to learn that she had earned gold in Medical Math and silver in Medical Terminology.
Precision Machining Technology lead instructor Isaac Gonzalez, who teaches at TSTC’s Harlingen campus, was excited about the overall outcome for all TSTC students who competed.
“I’m very happy,” he said. “Thanks to the instructors for giving the ability for the students to participate.”
The TSTC students who earned SkillsUSA medals include:
>> BRECKENRIDGE CAMPUS:
JOB SKILL DEMONSTRATION OPEN:
Gold: Seanna Henry
MEDICAL MATH:
Bronze: John Young
MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY:
Bronze: Kaci Calsoncin
>> BROWNWOOD CAMPUS:
EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN:
Gold: Misty Lane, Terry Kolb
FIRST AID-CPR:
Gold: Robert Rodgers
Silver: Destiny Roberts
WELDING SCULPTURE:
Silver: Hernan Hernandez
Bronze: Bobby Suniga
>> EAST WILLIAMSON COUNTY CAMPUS:
CNC MILLING:
Bronze: Adam Cox
>> HARLINGEN CAMPUS:
AUTOMOTIVE REFINISHING:
Bronze: Daisy Munoz
AVIATION MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY:
Gold: Adrian Nacianceno
Silver: Javier Lopez
Bronze: Carlos Garcia
CABINETMAKING:
Silver: Jaime Salinas
Bronze: Cailtan Gonzalez
CARPENTRY:
Gold: Alfredo Martinez
COLLISION REPAIR TECHNOLOGY:
Bronze: Juan Medina
CNC MILLING:
Silver: Juan Beltran
CNC TECHNICIAN:
Gold: Alfredo Aldape
CNC TURNING:
Bronze: Jesse Carrizales
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION:
Gold: Carina Garcia
Silver: Victoria Vasquez
Bronze: Mayra Guerra
HVAC AND REFRIGERATION:
Bronze: Angel Perez
MEDICAL MATH:
Gold: Isela Munoz
Silver: Maria Botello
MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY:
Gold: Raymundo Salinas
Silver: Isela Munoz
WELDING FABRICATION:
Gold: Omar Escalon, Caleb Garza, Carlos Lara
>> MARSHALL CAMPUS:
INDUSTRIAL MOTOR CONTROL:
Gold: James Walker
>> NORTH TEXAS CAMPUS:
CNC MILLING:
Gold: Raiden Dykes
CNC TECHNICIAN:
Silver: Alec Petrone
CNC TURNING:
Gold: Jose Palacios
>> WACO CAMPUS:
AUTOMOTIVE REFINISHING:
Gold: Gino Martinez
Silver: Edgar Gonzalez
CARPENTRY:
Silver: Trent Price
Bronze: Andrew Scheffe
COLLISION REPAIR TECHNOLOGY:
Gold: Luis Luna
Silver: Bobby Lopez
COLLISION DAMAGE APPRAISAL AND TOTAL LOSS EVALUATION:
Gold: Jorge Garcia
Silver: Carlos Palacios
COMMERCIAL BAKING:
Bronze: Tyler Keener
DIESEL EQUIPMENT:
Silver: Michael Lopez
Bronze: Matthew Berckenhoff
FACILITHON:
Gold: Michal Lopez
PLUMBING:
Gold: Chris Martinez
Silver: Lacey Edwards
Bronze: Dylan New
WELDING:
Bronze: Joh Womack
Learn more about TSTC at tstc.edu.
