Local Students Win State Titles at Virginia SkillsUSA Competition

Fairfax County students showed off just how well their schools teach and prepare them for the national workforce recently when they took home nearly 80 top-five finishes in the Virginia SkillsPlace USA Competition in Roanoke.

SkillsUSA is an organization that trains high school students in vocational and technical skills so they emerge from school ready to be successful in today's skilled workforce.

In the SkillsUSA Competition, students work against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations like electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting, culinary arts and more.

A total of 78 Fairfax County students placed in the top five students in their respective fields. See a complete list of those students and their fields and schools in the PDF document included in the photos section of this article.

In addition, 19 Fairfax County students took home first-place honors in their fields, and will go on to compete in the national championships in Kansas City in June.

The first-place winners were:

• Perry Melat of Fairfax Academy, Photography
• Nicholas Dell’Omo and Derek Yost of Fairfax Academy, Television (Video) Production.
• Kyle Wright of Chantilly Academy, Automotive Refinishing Technology.
• Alex Freitag, Alex Ramos, and Jonathan Redden of Edison Academy, Chapter Display.
• Melissa Howell, Ashlee Olsen, and Andrea Quiroa of Chantilly Academy, Community Service.
• Jack Gallagher of Chantilly Academy, Computer Maintenance Technology.
• Camila Casas Camacho of Edison Academy, Customer Service.
• Espejo Jimenez of Stuart High School, Employment Application Process.
• Victoria Gorospe, Somya Leskanich, Amber Patterson, and Monica Scholberg of Chantilly Academy, Entrepreneurship.
• Scott Waters of South Lakes High School, Job Skill Demonstration A.
• Peyton Haynes of Edison Academy, Veterinary Assisting.

Do you know a young student who has benefited from SkillsUSA? Tell us in the comments.

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