Students to compete at SkillsUSA Nationals 2024

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Savannah Technical College will send nine individuals and teams to compete in the national SkillsUSA leadership and skills competition June 24-28 in Atlanta, Ga. These competitors won gold at the SkillsUSA Georgia Competition in February.

• The Community Service team won gold for the fourth year in a row with teammates: Corina Stewart, Bazhena Kolesova, and Keelie Drabb; 
• The Occupational Health and Safety (OSHA) team won gold for the fourth year in a row with Industrial Maintenance Systems students Aiden Cimadevilla, Scott Szurley, Steven Cowart, and William Smith; 
• The Promotional Bulletin Board team won gold for the third year in a row with Early Childhood Care & Education teammates: Jeannie Fleming (alternate), Janine Lowry, Angel, and Debra Perez;
• Air Conditioning student Marco Viera won gold for the Sheet Metal competition;
• Architectural Drafting student Paul Panas won gold for Architectural Drafting;
• Automotive student Ricky Blount won gold for Mobile Electronics;
• Barbering student Alex Rodriguez won gold for Barbering;
• Early Childhood Care & Education student Jeri Newsome won gold for Customer Service; and
• Savannah Film Academy students Robert Ellis, III and Phil Marnell won gold for the Digital Cinema competition.

For a list of STC’s previous national wins for SkillsUSA visit the College’s national awards page. 

SkillsUSA is a national career and technical student organization/competition that annually serves more than 380,000 high school, college and post-secondary students–and their instructors–in technical, skilled and service-occupation instructional programs.

About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is America’s proud champion of the skilled trades. It’s a student-led partnership of education and industry that’s building the skilled workforce our nation depends on with graduates who are career ready, day one. Representing nearly 380,000 career and technical education students and teachers, SkillsUSA chapters thrive in middle schools, high schools and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide. SkillsUSA’s mission empowers students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders and responsible community members. That mission is accomplished through the SkillsUSA Framework of Personal Skills, Workplace Skills and Technical Skills Grounded in Academics, which is integrated into the classroom curriculum. Through Framework instruction, students develop the character-shaping leadership skills — teamwork, communication, professionalism and more — that successful careers and lives demand. At the same time, students hone their high-level technical skills against current industry standards in more than 130 skilled trade areas, from 3-D Animation to Welding. The result? Focused, confident and highly skilled graduates who are ready to work, ready to lead and ready to make a difference in our schools, workplaces and communities. A vital solution to the skills gap, where more in-demand skilled trades positions are available than qualified professionals to fill them, SkillsUSA has served more than 14 million difference-making members since 1965. To learn more, visit www.skillsusa.org.