NEWARK – Two Worcester County students were among the 23 Maryland teenagers who won medals at this year’s national SkillsUSA competition.
Worcester Technical High School senior Keyondra Snell won a silver medal in building maintenance while Worcester Technical High School junior Lindsay Kremer won a silver medal in principles of engineering and technology. Several other local students earned top-10 placings at the 51st Annual National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kentucky. Twenty five of the school’s 29 state winners made the trip to the national event.
“We encourage all the kids to get involved in competing,” said Rick Stephens, Worcester Tech’s SkillsUSA advisor.
Close to 90 Maryland students traveled to Kentucky for the event after participating in the 2016 SkillsUSA State Championship. More than half of the students representing Maryland at the national level earned top-10 placings. Students were judged in categories ranging from cabinetmaking to humanoid robotics to medical terminology. State officials said Maryland’s competitors—determined to be the best in the state—put in strong performances.
“SkillsUSA Maryland has a statewide membership of 5,000 high school students,” a statement from the Maryland State Department of Education reads. “Members have consistently demonstrated their expertise and professionalism while participating throughout the year in a variety of leadership and competitive conferences.”
Stephens attributes much of Worcester Tech’s SkillsUSA success to the support of the school’s administration and staff. He says Principal Caroline Bloxom and members of the school board volunteered as judges during the school’s local SkillsUSA competition in February.
“They’re very big supporters of the program,” he said.
Lindsay Kremer
Keyondra Snell
School employees also do what they can to help. Snell, in fact, prepared for her building maintenance competition by working with Worcester Tech custodians.
“Obviously it paid off,” Stephens said.
According to Stephens, Worcester Tech had a record 252 participants in its SkillsUSA program this year. He attributes the growing popularity of the program to the school-based competition in February that has taken place the past two years. It’s enabled more students to get an idea of what SkillsUSA is.
“Having the local competition is a big help,” he said. “Our enrollment has almost doubled.”
In addition to honing their trade-based skills, students who take part in the program participate in community service efforts. Stephens said his students hosted a canned food drive, adopted a family, collected winter hats and gloves and even adopted a highway.
Stephens believes taking part in the program not only teaches important life skills but gives students the chance to meet their peers across the state and even the country and prepare for life beyond high school.
“They’ve made so many connections,” he said. “It also opens them up to a lot of scholarships.”
Along with Snell and Kremer, students recognized at the national competition included Kyle Fields, fourth place, Major Appliance and Refrigeration Technology; Zachary Cioccio, fourth place, Medical Math; Victoria Moreau and Adam Taylor, seventh place, Community Action Project; Eve Watsky, eighth place, T-shirt Design; and John Chamberlain, Emily Mast and Hannah Semsker, 10th place, Career Pathways-Health Services.
