Submitted photofrom left to right:  SkillsUSA National Silver winners for 3-D Visualization and Animation Allen Paulo and Geremy Brantley, National Gold winner for Esthetics Jamie Grady, and National Bronze winners for Criminal Scene Investigation Shannon Marshall, Donya Land, and Trevecca Gates.

VALDOSTA — Wiregrass Georgia Technical College students won top honors at a national conference.

The students attended the 53rd Annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference held in Louisville, Ky., according to a school press release. 

More than 6,000 students competed in 100 different trade, technical, and leadership fields. Students worked against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations such as electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts.

All competitions are designed, ran and judged with the help of industry, trade associations and labor organizations, and test competencies are set using industry standards. Georgia earned more medals than any other state at the national conference this year, according to the press release.

Top student winners received gold, silver and bronze medallions. Many also received prizes such as tools of their trade or scholarships to further their career and education. The SkillsUSA Championship is for high school and college-level students who are members of the 360,000-member SkillsUSA organization.

Wiregrass student Jamie Grady (Valdosta campus) won a gold medal in esthetics with her model Marissa Gray. Geremy Brantley and Allen Paulo (Valdosta campus) won a silver medal in 3-D visualization and animation. 

The crime scene investigation team made of Trevecca Gates, Donya Land, and Shannon Marshall (Ben Hill-Irwin campus) earned bronze. These students received prize packages of high-end tools, specific to their trade, valued at $550-$1,500.

Wiregrass was also represented in the following competitions: telecommunication cabling – Travious Mack (Ben Hill-Irwin); auto refinishing – Tristan Stalvey (Valdosta campus); collision repair technology – Johnathan Wolfe (Valdosta campus); computer programming – Tristan Guice (Valdosta campus); and firefighting – Summer Smith (Valdosta campus).

“Earning Gold at SkillsUSA Nationals has been the biggest honor I have ever received,” Grady said. “It is very humbling to be considered the best esthetician student in the nation. Earning the gold medal at a national competition will show future employers the extent of my abilities in the beauty and skin-care industry and my dedication to my craft, ultimately landing me the job of my dreams. Thankfully, I have had many advisors at Wiregrass as well as my loving family, who have supported me and taught me skills that I will carry with me the rest of my career.”

Wiregrass had 11 students who earned a Skill Point certificate, according to the press release. The certificate is earned by attaining a “cut score” that is determined by the same industry leaders who defined the competencies for the championships, which indicates excellence for students entering technical fields. The Skill Point Certificates are a tool to recognize outstanding talent beyond those who earn medals at the SkillUSA championships. 

Students can use the certificates to document achievement and show potential employers as indicators of proficiency. 

“SkillsUSA is a wonderful experience for all involved,” said Kelley Wetherington, campus life coordinator. “We are proud of all of our students for representing Wiregrass Georgia Tech at the national, state, and regional levels. We have some pretty amazing students who worked hard and represented us well. Not only did our students work hard, so did our instructors. They went above and beyond to prepare our students for their competitions.”

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives working together to ensure America has a skilled work force.