ECC Students Earn Seven Awards at State SkillsUSA
Edgecombe Community College gold medalists in Career Pathways Showcase: Engineering (Secondary – SouthWest Edgecombe High School) are (l-r) Dawson Davis, Logan Phillips, advisor Rebecca Stamilio-Ehret, Rafael Serrano-Acosta, Phillip Greene, and Mark Duke.
Every Edgecombe Community College student who competed at the recent SkillsUSA state conference brought home an award.
Eighteen students and six faculty advisors traveled to Greensboro to participate in the SkillsUSA North Carolina State Leadership and Skills Conference held April 18-20. 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 trade, industrial, technical, and health occupations programs.
ECC gold medalists in the Skills Project Showcase – Metalworking (Post Secondary) are (l-r) Cole Lanier, Javari Hagans-Thompson, Jesus Alonso Casas, Hunter Rogers, Cody Hopkins, Tyler Mizell, and Warren Lynch, advisor. Student Abigail Williams is not pictured.
Three SkillsECC teams and two individuals placed first, winning gold medals in their competitions. One of the individual gold medal awards was in the Hair Coloring contest, and an ECC student won a silver medal in this same category. Two dual enrolled high school students received gold and bronze medals in Welding Sculpture.
SkillsECC award winners are:
GOLD MEDAL
Career Pathways Showcase: Industrial and Engineering Technology (Post Secondary)
- Matthew Duff
- Payden Kiser
- Rafael Serrano-Acosta
- Advisors: Rebecca Stamilio-Ehret, Dr. Johnica Ellis-Kiser, and Trey Cherry
GOLD MEDAL
Skills Project Showcase: Engineering (Secondary – SouthWest Edgecombe High School)
- Dawson Davis
- Mark Duke
- Phillip Greene
- Logan Phillips
- Rafael Serrano-Acosta
- Advisor: Rebecca Stamilio-Ehret
GOLD MEDAL
Skills Project Showcase: Metalworking (Post Secondary)
- Jesus Alonso Casas
- Javari Hagans-Thompson
- Cody Hopkins
- Cole Lanier
- Tyler Mizell
- Hunter Rogers
- Abigail Williams
- Advisor: Warren Lynch
GOLD MEDAL
Hair Coloring (Post Secondary)
- Carah Diehl
- Advisor: Carolyn Sherrill
SILVER MEDAL
Hair Coloring (Post Secondary)
- Kacie Strickland
- Advisor: Carolyn Sherrill
GOLD MEDAL
Welding Sculpture (Secondary – SouthWest Edgecombe High School)
- Carson Parker
- Advisor: Josh Briggs
BRONZE MEDAL
Welding Sculpture (Secondary – SouthWest Edgecombe High School)
- Myleigh Boyd
- Advisor: Josh Briggs
Career Pathways Showcase and Welding Sculpture are national level competitions, and ECC’s gold medalists will compete at the SkillsUSA National Skills and Leadership Conference in Atlanta in June.
During the SkillsUSA North Carolina conference, more than 2,100 students competed in over 120 hands-on trade, technical, and leadership contests. These contests span more than 95 areas from construction, automotive, and welding to drafting, public safety, culinary, and cosmetology.
ECC gold medalists in Career Pathways Showcase: Industrial and Engineering Technology are (l-r) advisors Trey Cherry and Dr. Johnica Ellis-Kiser, Rafael Serrano-Acosta, Payden Kiser, Matthew Duff, and advisor Rebecca Stamilio-Ehret.
SkillsECC has competed in the SkillsUSA competition since 2015. The competition was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic. ECC did not compete in the competition held virtually in 2021.
ECC President Dr. Greg McLeod and Michael Starling, dean of technical and continuing education, attended the competition. Instructors Stephen Dupree, Kevin Strickland, and Hannah Williams also attended to learn how they can integrate SkillsUSA into their programs.
In the Hair Coloring (Post Secondary) category, ECC students Carah Diehl (left) won a gold medal and Kacie Strickland (right) brought home a silver medal. Advisor Carolyn Sherrill is shown center.
“We are very proud of these students who worked so hard and represented the best of Edgecombe Community College,” says Dr. McLeod. “We also are grateful to their faculty advisors who make sure our students receive the training and skills they need to be successful, not only in SkillsUSA competitions, but also in their careers and in life.”
ECC welding students captured two individual awards. Carson Parker (right), won a gold medal in Welding Sculpture (Secondary – SouthWest Edgecombe High School), and Myleigh Boyd (left), won a bronze medal in the same category. Advisor Josh Briggs is shown center.
According to SkillsUSA North Carolina Executive Director Paul Heidepriem, “We improve the quality of our nation’s future skilled workforce through the development of SkillsUSA Framework skills that include personal, workplace, and technical skills grounded in academics. Our vision is to produce the most highly skilled workforce in the world, providing every member the opportunity for career success.”