UPTON – Following a victorious performance in statewide competition, 17 students from Blackstone Valley Tech will represent Massachusetts in the 50th Annual SkillsUSA National Championships.
Competing in team and individual categories against more than 2,500 of the state’s top vocational technical students, BVT students captured a total of 32 medals, including 19 gold, nine silver, and four bronze, in the recent SkillsUSA Massachusetts State Leadership and Skills Conference. All but two of the gold medalists will travel to Kansas City, Missouri in June and represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference.
SkillsUSA is the national organization for students in trade, industrial, technical, and health occupations education. The event held on May 2 marked the eighth year Valley Tech has hosted a portion of the statewide competition. This year, students and organizers were honored by the national Executive Director of SkillsUSA, Timothy Lawrence, who visited Valley Tech and took part in the conference’s opening ceremony. Accompanied by a production crew filming a documentary on SkillsUSA, Lawrence praised the Massachusetts conference as one of the nation’s largest and highest performing gatherings of SkillsUSA students.
Lawrence touted the intense and high pressure competitions as a great way for students to network with future employers, learn the latest industry standards, and discover the power of pride and professionalism. Speaking from personal experience, Lawrence said that his career path was shaped by a SkillsUSA welding competition in 1969
“I didn’t win a medal, but it changed my life. I saw the connection with business and industry. I saw the mayor there to welcome us, I saw scholarships being presented, and business professionals were looking over my shoulder to evaluate my welding skills,” Lawrence recalled. “I realized that what I was doing with my hands and my mind was important. All of a sudden, my goals in life changed.”
Often referred to as the Olympics of vocational technical education, SkillsUSA offers a valuable outlet for students committed to seeing, seeking, and securing their goals, according to BVT Superintendent-Director Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick.
“Many Valley Tech students enter our system with simply a passion for learning,” Fitzpatrick said. “By their sophomore, junior, and senior year, they’ve developed into high achieving individuals.”
The following Valley Tech students, listed by last name according to town and medal ranking, were among the school’s 32 medalists at the SkillsUSA Massachusetts State Leadership and Skills Conference:
UPTON
GOLD: Anthony Arrigo, Urban Search & Rescue; Anthony Collari, Plumbing; Theresa Rook, Health Occupations Portfolio.
MENDON
GOLD: Michael Altavilla, Principles of Technology; Jennifer Morin, Technical Drafting; Eric Peterson, Mobile Robotics.
SILVER: Jessica Roberts, Cabinetmaking.
BELLINGHAM
GOLD: Nicolette Haug, Technical Computer Applications; Rachel DeWolfe, Photography.
SILVER: Samantha Giffen, Photography.
BLACKSTONE
GOLD: Brittany Rovedo, Restaurant Service.
DOUGLAS
GOLD: Brett Yoder, Mobile Robotics.
GRAFTON
GOLD: Mikayla Corda, Community Service.
HOPEDALE
GOLD: Brittany Firth, Cosmetology Under 500 Hours.
MILFORD
GOLD: Stacey Muanya, Career Choice Commentary.
SILVER: Philip McHenry, Architectural Drafting.
BRONZE: George Bolosky, Diesel Equipment Technology.
MILLVILLE
GOLD: Ella Dehestani, Community Service.
MILLBURY
SILVER: Liz Bouthillette, Dental Assisting.
BRONZE: Hannah Licarie, Job Demo A; Scott Swenson, Automotive Refinishing Technology; Rebecca Rose, Restaurant Service.
NORTHBRIDGE
GOLD: Dillon Arnold, Urban Search & Rescue; Samantha Cellla, Community Service; Jacob Moon, Industrial Motor Control.
SILVER: Matt Goldstein, Computer Maintenance Technology; Jake Rivard, Technical Drafting.
SUTTON
GOLD: Todd Mahoney, Welding; Elisa Raymond, Cosmetology Under 500 Hours.
SILVER: Jake Bisson, Power Equipment Technology; Lauren Mahoney, Culinary Arts.
UXBRIDGE
SILVER: Josh Trottier, Telecommunications Cabling.
In addition to 32 medals, Valley Tech Auto Body students Emerson Mulher of Upton, Benjamin Orphin of Sutton, and Tony Arriaga of Milford earned a SkillsUSA third place ribbon for transforming a car hood into a monument for breast cancer awareness.
UPTON DAILY 