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.