Valley Tech Health Services graduate Theresa Rook of Upton earned a gold medal in the Health Occupations Professional Portfolio category of the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference Championships. Rook plans on continuing her career development in the Nursing program of Fitchburg State University. Photo courtesy of SkillsUSA Massachusetts
UPTON – Residents of the 13-town Blackstone Valley Tech District can take great pride in their vocational technical school’s recent performance at the 50th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference Championships, where 11 Valley Tech students earned two bronze, five silver, and four gold medals.
Often referred to as the Olympics of vocational technical education, the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference Championships offers students who won gold medals at their state’s conference the chance to compete against other gold medalists from around the country. Following the SkillsUSA Massachusetts event hosted by Valley Tech in May, a total of 17 BVT gold medalists traveled to the national event in Kansas City, Missouri to compete against more than 5,000 of the country’s best vocational technical students. Students were accompanied by a team of teachers and parents, including Valley Tech’s SkillsUSA advisors Rebecca Corda, Francis Petty, and Stanley Stachura.
Valley Tech’s 17 competitors included the defending champion of Plumbing, Anthony Collari of Upton, who retained his distinction as the best in the nation with another gold medal victory in the 2014 Championships. Collari is a recent graduate of the BVT Plumbing program and will continue his career development in the Construction Management program at the Wentworth Institute of Technology.
Collari wasn’t the only Upton resident to take home gold, as Health Services senior Theresa Rook earned the top prize in the category of Health Occupations Professional Portfolio. This fall, Rook will continue her Health Services career training in the Nursing program at Fitchburg State University. Along with Collari and Rook, fellow Upton resident Anthony Arrigo and his teammate Dillon Arnold earned a bronze medal in the Urban Search and Rescue category.
Valley Tech’s emphasis on Engineering principles across the curriculum paid huge dividends as sophomore Michael Altavilla of Mendon won the gold medal in the category of Principles of Engineering and Technology. Altavilla is a sophomore in the BVT Electronics and Engineering Technology program and will surely be a SkillsUSA contender for the next several years.
Valley Tech Culinary Arts graduate Brittany Rovedo was named the nation’s top student in the category of Restaurant Service. Rovedo will continue honing her Hospitality skills in the Event Management program at Johnson and Wales University.
In the category of Community Service, the team of Health Services students Mikayla Corda of Grafton, Ella Dehestani of Millville, and Samantha Cella of Northbridge took home silver medals. Electronics and Engineering Technology juniors Brett Yoder of Douglas and Eric Peterson of Mendon secured silver medals in the Mobile Robotic Technology competition.
District School Committee Chairman Joseph Hall of Bellingham congratulated Valley Tech’s students on their success and noted that the national championships occurred shortly after BVT’s budget request and expansion proposal were met with resistance from a few local officials.
“It was as if our competitors wanted to prove to District Finance Committee members that Valley Tech students are worth every cent spent on their vocational technical education,” Hall said.
In addition to 11 medalists, 15 Valley Tech students finished in the top ten of their competitions and earned Skill Point Certificates. Valley Tech’s strong performance contributed to a record year for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which celebrated its best performance in 40 years by earning a total of 60 national medals. Massachusetts finished second only to the state of Florida in total medals and had the highest number of top 10 finishes in the high school division.
Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School serves the towns of Bellingham, Blackstone, Douglas, Grafton, Hopedale, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Northbridge, Sutton, Upton and Uxbridge. Located in the heart of the Blackstone Valley, Blackstone Valley Tech creates a positive learning community that prepares students for personal and professional success in an internationally competitive society through a fusion of vigorous vocational, technical, and academic skills. The school’s website is http://www.valleytech.k12.ma.us.
UPTON DAILY 