Kishwaukee College students on the SkillsUSA team concluded another successful season with medalists at the state and national levels.
SkillsUSA is a national organization helping prepare students for trade professions. SkillsUSA hosts annual competitions for career and technical education (CTE) students to showcase their hands-on training and abilities.
In April, 11 members of Kish’s SkillsUSA chapter qualified for the SkillsUSA Illinois State Leadership & Skills Conference in Peoria, participating in the Diesel Equipment Technology, Heavy Equipment Operator, Nurse Assisting and Power Equipment Technology categories.
Lily Goode finished in first place to earn the state title in Power Equipment Technology, with teammates Konnor Welker placing second, Tom Nowicki placing third, and Dylan Erbstoesser placing fourth. In Nurse Assisting, Abel Huerta earned first place and a state title.
By winning their respective categories at the state level, Goode and Huerta qualified to compete with more than 6,500 students in the SkillsUSA Championships during the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference this June in Atlanta, Ga. Huerta placed seventh in the Nurse Assisting competition, and Goode placed ninth in the Power Equipment Technology competition.
Don Flink, Assistant Professor of Diesel Power Technology, coaches the Kish SkillsUSA team.
“The team worked very hard to get to this point. I have never had a group of students work so hard and study so much for this competition. We are very proud of their accomplishments,” Flink said.
Kish’s SkillsUSA team includes members from various CTE programs offered by the College. Learn more about CTE opportunities at Kish at kish.edu/cte.