Impressive Results
8 Medals and Top 10 Finishes at SkillsUSA National Competition – July 6, 2022
Our students proved their vocational-technical ability at the 58th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, June 20-24. The event is the world's largest showcase for career and technical education students.
The highlight of the conference is the SkillsUSA Championships, where more than 6,500 outstanding career and technical education students – all state contest winners from across the nation – compete in 108 hands-on skill and leadership competitions. Students work against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations such as electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting, and culinary arts.
In the third and final stage of the SkillsUSA competition series, we had 27 students compete with impressive results. Once again, our student competitors demonstrated their career-technical expertise and proudly claimed seven gold and one bronze medal. Additionally, four National Voting Delegates successfully campaigned for Hunter Claflin, who was elected to serve as a National Officer for the 2022-2023 school year. Also, all contestants who medaled or met a threshold contest score for their event as an indicator of proficiency were awarded Skill Point Certificates.
"Our students continually strive to perfect the skills needed to compete against the best vocational-technical students in the SkillsUSA District, State, and National Championships," said Superintendent-Director Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick. "Our competitors are a highly motivated local contingent that successfully competed against the top peers from the likes of Michigan, Ohio, and Texas."
The following is a list of our students who placed in the top 10 at the 2022 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference Championships and earned Skill Point Certificates. More details are available at www.valleytech.k12.ma.us/skillsusa.
Bellingham
4th place: Sara Lewis, Principles of Technology
Blackstone
National Voting Delegate: Haley McKinnon
Gold: Daniel Cardone, Web Design
Bronze: Allana Atstupenas, CNC Turning Specialist
5th place: Kyle Penta, Entrepreneurship; and Andrew Konicki, Entrepreneurship
Douglas
National Officer Elect: Hunter Claflin
Gold: Bryan Wheeler, Robotics & Automation Technology; and Brett Staples, Web Design
4th place: John Kearney, Additive Manufacturing; and Chloe Vescio, Additive Manufacturing
Grafton
5th place: Nicholas Valoras, Entrepreneurship
Hopedale
National Voting Delegate: Camila Ramirez
Mendon
National Voting Delegate: Samantha Stephens
Milford
Skill Point Certificate: Mayra Desousa, First Aid/CPR
Millbury
Gold: Julia Drapeau, Health Occupations Professional Portfolio
Millville
8th place: Natalie Lambert, Culinary Arts
10th place: Myra Dehestani, Prepared Speech
Sutton
Skill Point Certificate: Benjamin Judson, Automotive Refinishing Technology
We're so proud of Benjamin! He has been invited to compete in the 2023 Worlds Skills Competition in France.
Upton
5th place: Chloe Terrell, Entrepreneurship
Uxbridge
National Voting Delegate: Mia Bellacqua
Gold: Adam Pratt, Robotics & Automation Technology; Riley Holt, Mechatronics; Robert Mellen, Mechatronics
4th place: Autumn Herrick, Telecommunications Cabling
