Seventeen VHS students attended the SkillsUSA
State Leadership and Skills Conference this year

VHS Students Compete at SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference

Valdosta High School CTE Instructors, Curtis Sutton (Public Safety), Jode Hewett (Drafting), and Wes Force (Graphic Communications), accompanied seventeen VHS students to the SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, April 24-26. This annual event allows Career and Technical students the opportunity to compete in their skill areas with students throughout the State.

Seven students in this year’s group competed in five skill areas: Des’Jorie Brown – Extemporaneous Speaking; Nicole Nowak – Advertising Design; James Mahoney – Electronics Applications; Cedric Reid – Cosmetology; Brittany Bettis, Takeera Fullwood, and Heath Newbern – Crime Scene Investigation.

For the second year in a row, James Mahoney placed first in the State in Electronics Applications, and will advance to the National competition which will be held in Kansas City, MO this Summer.

Students also attended the 2008 Construction and Engineering Expo at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, as well as several general sessions for the SkillsUSA organization. In addition, Wes Force, and Advertising Design contestant, Nicole Nowak, spent the day at Heidelberg’s Print Media Demonstration Center in Kennesaw, GA. Heidelberg, the world-renowned German printing press manufacturer, produces some of the world’s finest presses and finishing equipment for the graphics industry.

This year’s group of students was the largest we’ve taken to the SkillsUSA State event in recent years. Valdosta High School’s chapter hopes to continue this trend as we encourage more students to be involved in this worthwhile organization.

VHS Junior, James Mahoney, was awarded a gold medal
for his first place finish in Electronics Applications