ECC Students Capture Eight Awards at SkillsUSA Competition
Edgecombe Community College students brought home four individual awards and four team awards from the SkillsUSA state competition held April 19-20.
Twenty-two students and ten faculty advisors traveled to Greensboro to participate in the competition. Founded in 1965, SkillsUSA offers a contest program for students to demonstrate their career and technical skills.
Twenty-two Edgecombe Community College students and ten faculty advisors participated in a recent SkillsUSA statewide competition in Greensboro. The ECC group brought home four team awards and four individual awards in categories that demonstrated their career and technical skills.
The ECC chapter, called SkillsECC, provides leadership-building activities for students enrolled in vocational, trade and industrial, technical, and health occupations curriculum and continuing education programs.
Two SkillsECC teams placed 1st in the Career Pathways Showcase at the state competition.
Students Janice Carter, Elizabeth Cross, and Tarfee Hines placed 1st with their Career Pathways Showcase: Human Services Cluster. Their advisor was Rick Basile, chair of criminal justice.
Students Jilianne Leary, Christopher Nalepka, and Patrick Philips placed 1st with their Career Pathways Showcase: Industrial and Engineering Technical Cluster. Their advisor was Rebecca Stamilio Ehret, physics/industrial trades instructor.
Students Darnell Harrison, Juan “TJ” Johnson, and Jacob Turner placed 2nd in Crime Scene Investigation. They were advised by Gerald Pipkins, part-time criminal justice instructor.
The four-person team of Sylvester Hanson, Kevin Mitchell, Greg Ricks, and Dan Stroud placed 2nd in the Teamworks category. Dave Rummel, facility maintenance instructor, served as the team advisor.
The team of (l-r) Christopher Nalepka, Jilianne Leary, and Patrick Philips placed 1st in the Career Pathways Showcase: Industrial and Engineering Technology Cluster.
Individual students honored were:
- Darlene Batts, 2nd place, Information Technology Services, advisors Teresa Jeffries and Tim Boyd
- William Becker, 4th place, Information Technology Services, advisors Teresa Jeffries and Tim Boyd
- Taylor Padgett, 5th place, Hair Coloring, advisor Carolyn Sherrill
- Bobby Mitchell, 5th place, Automotive Refinishing Technology, advisor Bud Speight
- Other students who competed at the SkillsUSA state event were cosmetology students Amber Beach and Bridget Lancaster, advised by Carolyn Sherrill; and carpentry students Keandre Mitchell and Devon Weathersbe, advised by Doug Parrish.
Cosmetology student Taylor Padgett won 5th place in the Hair Coloring category.
“Our students represented Edgecombe Community College and themselves with professionalism and considerable competence at the state competition,” says Sheila Hoskins, advisor to the SkillsECC organization and director of institutional effectiveness at the college.
“This is just the second year of the SkillsUSA organization on the Edgecombe Community College campus. We are so very proud of our students and their accomplishments.”