ATLANTA – A team of Northeast Community College students took top honors at a national career and technical education skills competition and leadership conference.
A total of 26 students, faculty, and staff went to Atlanta, Ga., for the competition with 17 Northeast students competing after winning gold medals at the state competition in Grand Island.
Northeast’s Teamworks won the gold medal at the national competition. The team consists of four members, two from building construction, one from electrical construction and control and one from plumbing. This is the second year that Northeast has taken the gold.
The team consisted of Logan Kaup, Arlington, and Ryan Schmidt, Osmond, building construction; Austyn Kierborz, Valentine, plumbing; and Daxton Behmer, Hoskins, electrical construction & control.
Their instructors are Ryan Hobza, Roger Walker and Curtis Brandt, building construction; Bonnie Henkel, plumbing; Nathan Simpson, Brian Rastede and Tony Hoffman, electrical construction & control.
The mechatronics team took silver. That team consisted of Calvin Christensen, Hartington, and Christopher Efta, Norfolk. Their instructors are Eric Roskeland and Bill Barnes, electromechanical.
And in technical math, Cole Vogt, Pierce, took silver. Instructors are Joe Ottis, Roger Carnell, Bowdie Otte, Dan Heikes.
Not all the instructors of the students attended SkillsUSA. The students and instructors returned to Northeast on Saturday, June 29.
The SkillsUSA Championships is the nation’s largest hands-on workforce development event for middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary students enrolled in career and technical education programs.
Quality career and technical education is the centerpiece of the conference. There were more than 17,000 students, teachers, education leaders, and representatives from 650 national corporations, trade associations, businesses, and labor unions in attendance.
SkillsUSA and industry host the event at an estimated cost of more than $36 million. It is considered the largest skill competition in the world and one of the single largest days of industry volunteerism in the United States.
SkillsUSA represents 130 occupational areas and adds competitions to the SkillsUSA Championships each year to meet the demands of new or expanding careers. The SkillsUSA Championships features more than 6,700 competitors in 110 hands-on skill and leadership competitions. The contest area covers 2 million square feet, which is equivalent to 35 football fields or 46 acres.
SkillsUSA Medalists and Instructors
Northeast Community College was well represented last week at the national SkillsUSA conference and competition in Atlanta, including these students who earned medals and their instructors. Northeast students earned medals in three categories. (Northeast Community College)
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