Two Walt Whitman High School seniors placed first in the New York State SkillsUSA Leadership and Skills Championships in Syracuse last month. Angelina Blankson won 1st Place (Gold Medal) in the Animal Careers category and Manuel Canales placed 1st in the Advertising Design category. Junior Dashiell Ramirez placed 2nd (Silver Medal) in the category of Esthetics. In addition to their education at Whitman, all three students attend Western Suffolk Boces every day which offers them an excellent opportunity to train in their specific career interest in addition to their academic coursework. They competed against hundreds of other career and technical education students from across New York State to come out on top.
The NYS SkillsUSA championship is a regional competition as part of SkillsUSA. SkillsUSA is a nonprofit national education association that serves middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary students preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations. Its aim is to bring students, teachers and industry together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. A big part of the opportunity for career growth is through competition. Students compete at the local or state level and then go on to the national SkillsUSA Championships. Those championships are being held in Atlanta, GA in June.
The intense competition in each category can take place over two or three days. It can involve written tests, presentations, and/or the completion of a series of tasks specific to their career area.
All three students agree that this training has helped them focus on a specific career path, or what major they want to pursue in college. Angelina wants to study veterinary technology, Manuel will pursue a degree in architecture, and Dashiell wants to be an aesthetic nurse.
Senior Angelina Blankson won 1st Place (Gold Medal) in the Animal Careers category.
Senior Manuel Canales placed 1st in the Advertising Design category with the poster design shown here.
Junior Dashiell Ramirez placed 2nd (Silver Medal) in the category of Esthetics.