Nash Community College SkillsUSA Team Off to State!

NCC SkillsUSA Chapter and team with advisors and NCC President Dr. Lew K. Hunnicutt

The Nash Community College SkillsUSA will again travel to Greensboro, North Carolina, to participate in the SkillsUSA North Carolina State Conference (April 23 – 25).

In 2023, NCC was named as one of the nation’s Models of Excellence (one of only 24 schools). This honor is the highest and most competitive recognition for excellence in competitions and curriculum from SkillsUSA.

“Since Nash CC began competing in SkillsUSA in 2013, Nash CC has compiled over 120 gold, silver, and bronze medals at State and National competitions.  We have also won the second highest honor, Gold Chapter of Distinction, in five of the last six years.  Last year we received the highest honor in the nation receiving the Model of Excellence for Workplace Skills award.  Only seven other schools in the nation were awarded this honor and NCC was the only school in North Carolina to receive it.” said Dr. Lew K. Hunnicutt, president of NCC. “This was not surprising considering the incredible amount of effort our student competitors, advisors, and the rest of our campus team put into SkillsUSA.”

The college has doubled the number of competitors, with over 40 students compared to 20 last year.

“We are ecstatic to be competing in several new competitions this year,” said Wanda Tyson, department chair of applied engineering technologies and lead SkillsUSA advisor at NCC. “Notably, we have students competing for the first time in Robotics and Automation Technology. They will move on to Nationals in June if they win gold at State. “

NCC has students competing in Digital Cinema Production and Adobe Visual Design for the first time in several years.

“We’ve had participants in these competitions a time before but had gotten away from it; we are more than happy to compete again as our chapter continues to grow with more interest,” said Tyson.

NCC SkillsUSA Chapter Competitors and Advisor, Wanda Tyson, on stage at Nationals for Model of Excellence Presentation

Dr. Hunnicutt hosted a send-off for the students and chapter advisors today to encourage and support them on their journey to State for the coveted opportunity to compete at Nationals again.

“This is one of the coolest parts of my job,” said Dr. Hunnicutt. “I often tell everyone that comes to campus or that I have a meeting with that we don’t have sports teams, but we do have SkillsUSA teams, and they are just as essential and competitive, fostering student engagement and, more importantly, another vehicle for providing an educational atmosphere outside of the classroom.”

The college will participate in similar programs as last year, such as welding, cosmetology, job interviewing, electronic technology, medical assistance, and many more. Students compete in hands-on trade, technical and leadership contests spanning over 95 trade areas.

Last year, NCC students listed placed in the following SkillsUSA North Carolina Championships competitions: Josiah Carpenter (1^st place in Electronics), Hannah Nguyen (1^st place in Job Interview), Keyonna Richardson (2^nd place in Nail Care), William Medford (2^nd place in Information Technology), Matthew Sessoms (2^nd place in Technical Computer Applications), Adrienne Williamson (3^rd place in Cosmetology – Beginner Skills), Jennifer Casper (4^th place in CNC Turning), Kenaeja Skrine (4^th place in Hair Color), Ashley Brantley (4^th place in Medical Assisting), Kaitlyn Watson (5^th place in Cosmetology), Andrew Richardson (5^th place in Computer Programming), Raul Diaz-Mejia (5^th place in Mechatronics) and Jahiem Williams (5^th place in Mechatronics)

NCC also won the 100-member club award and Gold Chapter of Distinction.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. Nash Community College’s chapter was chartered during the Spring 2017 Semester signifying the partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to promote a highly skilled workforce. SkillsUSA helps each student excel by providing educational programs, leadership opportunities, events and competitions that support career and technical education (CTE).

One of the most important aspects of SkillsUSA is promoting soft skills in the classroom with the use of the SkillsUSA Framework. The SkillsUSA Framework is nationally identified soft skills that consist of personal, workplace, and technical skills grounded in academics.

Visit www.nashcc.edu/nccskillsusa for more information.