每日大赛

每日大赛 students win big at annual SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference

每日大赛 was recognized for the second year in a row as the SkillsUSA Tennessee Chapter of Excellence at the career and technical student organization’s State Leadership and Skills Conference, where they earned 39 individual medals and multiple awards.

每日大赛 students, faculty and staff traveled to Chattanooga from March 15 to March 18 to compete in career and technical events at the state-level SkillsUSA competition, which is dedicated to preparing students to be skilled professionals and ready-to-work, responsible community members.

“SkillsUSA prepares and equips our students to be successful in their careers beyond graduation,” said Sharon Couch, director of Student Engagement and Leadership at Pellissippi. “Students are able to apply what they learn in real-world settings, and return to the classroom and workforce stronger, more skilled and more confident.”

The event gave students from Tennessee community colleges, colleges of applied technology and universities the chance to showcase their academic, professional and personal skills.

It was also a career-immersion opportunity for students to network with local employers and higher education institutions, learn essential leadership skills, and compete in a variety of career categories.

The following students won gold medals:

• Hannah Allmon and Hannah Smith, Audio Production
• Luke Brown and Barton Whittle, Digital Cinema Production
• Gracelyn Covington, Miles Dansby and Wilson Dickerman, Crime Scene Investigation
• Lydia Crooks, Extemporaneous Speaking
• Alyssa Gonzalez and Willow Miller, 3D Visualization and Animation
• Atlas Montez and Roger Williams, Video Production
• O’Malley Stith, Advertising Design
• Nia Traore, Graphic Communications
• Nicole Turnmire, Baking and Pastry Arts
• Louis Rey Valenzuela, Career Technical Educator

The following students won silver medals:

• Presley Armbruster, Jonah Brady and Lucas McGhee, Engineering Technology Design
• Brennan Brook and Sam Harris, Cyber Security
• Abigail Cannon, T-Shirt Design
• Wilson Evans and Martha “Bennie” Bennett, 3D Visualization and Animation
• Paula Fattouh, Prepared Speech
• Sofia Meza, Advertising Design
• Alex Mull and Cayden Bell, Audio Production
• Mallorie O’Neal, Graphic Communications
• Melissa Saenz, Extemporaneous Speaking
• Kolbe Sexton, Culinary Arts

The following students won bronze medals:

• Gage Adams and Caleb Moye, Cyber Security
• Brittany Canseco, Advertising Design
• Lydia Gabbard, Graphic Communications
• Nayeli Perez, Culinary Arts
• Janae Chapell and Atreyi Samaddar, 3D Visualization and Animation
• Nia Traore, T-Shirt Design

Louis Rey Valenzuela, Pellissippi student and president of SkillsUSA Tennessee, said the competition showcases academic growth and career readiness in a fail-safe environment.

“What Pellissippi does is take that a step further by preparing those students to be truly ready for the workforce,” Valenzuela said.

The college won the Silver Level Chapter of Excellence, the Spirit Award, and the Award Banquet Centerpiece Design Award. For the second consecutive year, Couch was named Outstanding Advisor of the Year.

Participating in the competition “creates a powerful cycle of learning,” Couch said. “Students return more skilled technically and more confident professionally because of these experiences that truly elevate who they are and how they lead.”

Students who earned a gold medal in their category will advance to the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference, June 1 to June 5 in Atlanta.