When Northeast Community College students who qualified for nationals in SkillsUSA compete next week, they will be facing some community colleges that have more than 25,000 students.
Despite its small size in comparison to many other community colleges, Northeast almost always does well.
Wade Herley, a longtime Northeast leader, credits it to the college’s faculty and programs.
“It’s fun going up against a college like Salt Lake Community College, which has somewhere around 27,000 students,” Herley said.
Northeast has been competing in SkillsUSA for about 10 years, with about 75 students taking part at the state level this year. The most Northeast had compete at the state level was 115 students.
All students who win gold at Northeast qualify for the national competition. This year, Northeast has 16 students competing at nationals from June 23-27, in Atlanta.
Northeast usually does well. Last year, for example, Northeast’s Teamworks won the gold medal. Teamworks consists of four members, two from building construction, one from electrical construction and control and one from plumbing.
This year, Northeast students will be going for their third consecutive gold in TeamWorks.
Mark Harelman, Northeast building construction trainer in West Point, is leading the effort this year for Northeast for SkillsUSA. There’s a lot of logistics to get students transported and fed.
Here's how Northeast fared at the state competition in Grand Island, with gold medal winners advancing to the national competition next week at Atlanta.
Ava Miller, Norfolk, Architectural Drafting, Gold.
Connor Smith, Aurora, Carpentry, Gold.
Kage Collins, Saint Paul, Nebraska; Collision Repair Tech, Gold.
Ben Stearns, Norfolk, Computer Programming, Gold.
Katelyn Gubbels, Pierce, Crime Scene Investigation, Gold.
Kaia Kollmar, Norfolk; Crime Scene Investigation, Gold.
Abbigail Jamison, Tecumseh, Crime Scene Investigation, Gold.
Hannah Taylor, Norfolk, Early Childhood Education, Gold.
Evan Schuetze, West Point, Electrical Construction wiring, Gold.
Kolby Majerus, York, HVAC, Gold.
Kellan Wusk, Geneva, Teamworks, Gold.
Izek Leslie, Spalding, Teamworks, Gold.
Bobbie Martin, Alda, Teamworks, Gold.
Landon Olson, Fremont, Teamworks, Gold.
Jacie L Ambrose, Saint Paul, Nebraska, Television/Video Production, Gold.
Michelle Stephany Soto, West Point, Television/Video Production, Gold.
Laura Hansen, Marquette, Advertising Design, Silver.
Gustavo Pastor, Norfolk, Architectural Drafting, Silver.
Raden Orton, Mills, Cabinet Making, Silver.
Kaden Sukup, Norfolk, CNC2 Axis Turning Programming, Silver.
Jax Ayer, Hyannis, Criminal Justice, Silver.
Cohen Gallegher, Norfolk, Cyber Security (Team), Silver.
Adam Wiese, Fremont, Cyber Security (Team), Silver.
Kathryn Nelsen, Columbus, Early Childhood Education, Silver.
Trey Weaver, Wilcox, Electrical Construction Wiring, Silver.
Matt Reikofski, Stromsburg, HVAC, Silver.
Anahi Fuentes, Madison, Industrial Motor Control, Silver.
Jose Vasquez-Martin, Madison, Internetworking, Silver.
Jackson Mazuch, Norfolk, Technical Drafting, Silver.
Riley Osantowski, Columbus, Welding Fabrication, (Team F), Silver.
Ashton Lanning, Lindsay, Welding Fabrication,(Team F), Silver.
Matthew Schultz, Seward, Welding Fabrication, (Team F), Silver.
Alberto Isac Cartela Jr., Norfolk, Advertising Design, Bronze.
Monzerrat Bedolla, Columbus, Architectural Drafting, Bronze.
Baxter Beutler, Bancroft, Carpentry, Bronze.
Savina Tangeman, Norfolk, Crime Scene Investigation, (Team), Bronze.
Nicole Mas, Columbus, Crime Scene Investigation, (Team), Bronze.
Alan Gloria, Madison, Crime Scene Investigation, (Team), Bronze.
Ty Landers, Scotia, Criminal Justice, Bronze.
Alexander Grosserode, Oakdale, Industrial Motor Control, Bronze.
Josiah Stonehocker, Fremont, Internetworking, Bronze.
Fernando J Sanchez, Wayne, Mechatronics, (Team D), Bronze.
Annastasia Salvatori, Norfolk, Mechatronics, (Team D), Bronze.
Competing for medals at Nationals
Northeast Community College has 16 students competing at the SkillsUSA national championships in Atlanta from June 23-27. Here are the students who won medals at nationals last year, along with their instructors. One of the gold medal winners was the TeamWorks team, which won a national championship for the second time in a row.
###
