Twenty-four students and accompanying faculty from Albany Technical College (ATC) had an unforgettable experience this past week. They joined students from across the state to compete in the 2023 SkillsUSA Georgia Postsecondary State Conference held March 9-11 in Atlanta, Georgia. Students who won gold medals will continue to compete in the national competition in June. The majority of the technical colleges in Georgia have SkillsUSA chapters. SkillsUSA State competitions are held annually in the spring, and the national competitions are held in June.

Students from various programs across the college left the campus last Thursday morning and headed up to Atlanta for the competition. Areas the students competed in included Barbering, Cosmetology, Dental Assisting, Early Childhood Education, Firefighting, Health Knowledge Bowl, Masonry, Medical Assisting, Medical Terminology, Nurse Assisting, Practical Nursing, Welding, and Welding Sculpture.

ATC students did exceptionally well at the SkillsUSA state competition bringing home 13 medals, including:
Gold Medal
Javetta Clemmons - Masonry
Jordan Jackson - Nurse Assisting
Sarah Leach - Dental Assisting

Silver Medal
Antonika Brown - Cosmetology
Ambrenajah Edwards - Dental Assisting
Colton Lewis - Welding Sculpture
Brittney Brown - Health Knowledge Bowl
Theodore Jenkins - Heatlh Knowledge Bowl
Patrick Minarovich - Health Knowledge Bowl
Javon Nicholson-Sykes - Health Knowledge Bowl

Bronze Medal
Joshalyn Smith - Practical Nursing
Temiah Streeter - Early Childhood Education
Khalilah Williams - Dental Assisting

Skills USA Georgia says that the State Leadership and Skills Conference is the year's pinnacle event! Featuring the best of the best from across Georgia, the State Leadership and Skills Conference allows students the opportunity to put their technical skills to the test in over 70 career competitions. Simultaneously, students sharpen their workplace and technical skills in leadership training, state officer elections, and more!

SkillsUSA is a United States career and technical student organization serving middle school, high school, and college students and professional members enrolled in training programs in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, including health occupations. The organization is dedicated to preparing America's high-performance workers in public career and technical programs.

SkillsUSA also promotes an understanding of the free enterprise system and involvement in community service. Its mission is to help its members become world-class workers, leaders, and responsible American citizens.