West Suburban Students Earn National Medals at SkillsUSA

AURORA -- The West Suburbs were well-represented at the 2025 SkillsUSA National Championships in Atlanta, where students from Waubonsee Community College, Metea Valley, Oswego High School, and West Aurora High School earned national honors.

Waubonsee Community College led the way with four gold medal wins:

• Aleah Sauder – gold, Automotive Refinishing Technology
• Joshua Stover – gold, Automotive Service Technology
• Benjamin Swanson – gold, Collision Damage Appraisal
• Team of Briana Harris, Sarah Pawlus, Kevin Bustamante Fontanel, and Ennis Ballines – gold, Entrepreneurship

“Waubonsee had an extraordinary year,” said Eric Hill, Executive Director of SkillsUSA Illinois. “These gold medalists are national champions in their craft.”

Other West Suburban achievements included:

• Sameera Waghmare, Saanvi Gupta, Kashish Upadhyay, and Tiana Prem (Metea Valley) – silver, Entrepreneurship
• Katelyn Thilk (Oswego High School) – bronze, Baking and Pastry Arts
• Ava Unold, Jayden Crete, and Tyler Pozzi (West Aurora) – bronze, Automated Manufacturing Technology

These students were among more than 300 Illinois competitors at the national event, which drew over 6,600 students from across the country.

Hill emphasized that the program’s impact goes beyond medals: “SkillsUSA prepares students for life, not just for competition. And thanks to Illinois’ investment in career education, our young people are better positioned than ever to succeed.”

The SkillsUSA Illinois team’s trip to Atlanta was supported by grants from the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship program. With new state funding, the organization plans to expand into more schools statewide.

To view the full results and highlights, visit www.nlsc.skillsusa.org.

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