ECC Students Earn Five Awards at State SkillsUSA
Eleven Edgecombe Community College students and four faculty advisors participated in a recent SkillsUSA statewide competition in Greensboro. The ECC group won five awards in categories that demonstrated their career and technical skills. From left are (kneeling) advisor Warren Lynch, Jacob Teel, Jordon Price, Gaston Ezzell, advisor Rebecca Stamilio-Ehret, (back) advisor Trey Cherry, Payden Kiser, Brett Varnell, Josh Guevara, Trevor Robbins, Jasmine Floyd, Zened Alleyne, and Je’Aisa Belcher.
Edgecombe Community College students brought home three individual awards and two team awards from the SkillsUSA state competition held April 27-29.
Eleven students and four faculty advisors traveled to Greensboro to participate in the competition. Founded in 1965, SkillsUSA offers a competition for students to demonstrate 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 Skill Project Showcase at the state competition.
Students Josh Guevara, Trevor Robbins, and Brett Varnell placed 1st in Skill Project Showcase: Metalworking (Post Secondary). Their advisor was Warren Lynch, welding instructor.
Students Gaston Ezzell, Jordon Price, and Jacob Teel placed 1st in Skill Project Showcase: Metalworking (High School – SouthWest Edgecombe). Their advisor was Josh Briggs, facility maintenance and welding instructor.
Student Payden Kiser placed 1st in Principles of Engineering (High School – Edgecombe Early College). He was advised by Rebecca Stamilio-Ehret, physics and industrial technology instructor, and Trey Cherry, information technology studies department chair.
Students Je’Aisa Belcher and Jasmine Floyd placed 4th and 5th, respectively, in Hair Coloring. These students were advised by Tangala Tyler, cosmetology instructor, and Carolyn Sherrill, cosmetology program chair.
Other SkillsECC participants were students Zened Alleyne and Carah Diehl in the Fantasy Hair and Makeup contest.
ECC President Dr. Greg McLeod and Michael Starling, dean of the Division of Business, Industry, and Technologies, also attended the SkillsUSA competition.
More than 1,500 students competed in over 120 hands-on trade, technical, and leadership contests during the SkillsUSA conference.
“SkillsECC has competed in the SkillsUSA state competition since 2015, but this was the first year of competition since 2019 due to the pandemic,” explains SkillsECC Advisor Trey Cherry.
“Our students did a tremendous job. They were outstanding ambassadors for Edgecombe Community College, and they were skilled competitors. We are very proud of our SkillsECC members!” he says.
“These students are demonstrating more than just their skills; they are proving that our workforce is prepared to lead the way in every technical area our country needs to maintain a strong global economic presence,” adds SkillsUSA North Carolina Director Paul Heidepriem.