Shawsheen Tech upperclassmen, from left, Kylie Plowman (Wilmington), Nicole Hatch (Burlington), Kylie McLaughlin (Billerica), and Addison Dunham (Tewksbury) triumphed as gold medalists in the Health Knowledge Bowl during the SkillsUSA district competition. (Courtesy Shawsheen Tech)
BILLERICA — Shawsheen Valley Regional Vocational Technical School District proudly celebrates the remarkable accomplishments of its students in the SkillsUSA District 4 competition held on March 14.
The competition featured students from eight prominent vocational schools in the region, including Essex Tech, Nashoba Tech, and Greater Lawrence Tech, among others. With a comprehensive array of 86 occupational and leadership skill competitions, Shawsheen proudly sent a contingent of 176 students to showcase their talents and skills.
SkillsUSA Championships, a series of local (district), state, and national competitions, aim to recognize student excellence in career and technical education.
Each skill area in the District SkillsUSA competition consists of three components: a comprehensive technical exam (70% of the final score), an employability skills/professional development exam (20%), and an OSHA exam (10%), culminating the students’ final score and rank.
During a school assembly on March 25, Karen Meister, assistant chapter adviser of the Shawsheen SkillsUSA chapter, commended the dedication and hard work of the student competitors, highlighting their significant strides toward their career aspirations. Meister proudly announced that 66 Shawsheen students secured medals in the competition, including 21 gold, 27 silver, and 18 bronze medalists, with 56 of them qualifying to advance to the SkillsUSA State Competition in April.
Shawsheen students excelled across a diverse range of occupational and leadership skill areas, with victories in 30 out of the 86 categories. Noteworthy skill areas include architectural drafting, industrial motor control, culinary arts, dental assisting, and more, reflecting the school’s commitment to providing training aligned with industry needs.
“The philosophy of [SkillsUSA] Championships is to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and to keep training relevant to employers’ needs,” as stated on the national SkillsUSA webpage.
Shawsheen Valley Technical School is delighted with this year’s results and extends congratulations to the following SkillsUSA District medalists:
Gold medalists: Jake Amoroso, Alyssa Costantiello, Matthew Dall, Ronan Dewar, Addison Dunham, Corrine Foley, Nicole Hatch, Jonathan Hureau, Jasmine Johansen, Cole Kelley, Melissa Lavine, Isabella Luis, Kayla Mason, Kylie McLaughlin, Layne Miller, Roy Plewa, Kylie Plowman, Alexandra Quick, Zachary Rogers, Isaac Schmidt, and Dario Walton.
Silver medalists: Aiden Bain, Phoebe Cameron, John Canadas, John DiPietropolo, Jayson Dube, Nicholas Gattineri, Nicholas Gerasimov, Autumn Halas, Brendan Ingersoll, Nishtha Lamsal, Hope LeDoux, Nicholas Leite, Madeline Long, Giana Manoloulis, Seamus Naughton, Allie Oliver, Anthony Pellegrino, Jayden Perez, Alaina Powell, Ralph Raymond, Samuel Sarkissian, Jason Spaniol, Shelby Tangusso, Methun Thayaaparan, Delaney Ward, Michael Ware, and Juliana Welch.
Bronze medalists: Nolan Ally, Avery Assarian, Anna Doughty, Jason Flavin, Jackson Goldman, Maximus Hussey-Cerqueira, Joseph Jenkins, Harrison Kinsella, Ava LeDoux, Kristin Macdonald, Sydney MacPherson, Connor Marchant, Amelia Matzke, Sean Morgan, Lorraina Raposa, Tucker Robinson, Seth Ruchalski, and Megan Steeves.
Source: Shawsheen Tech students secure 66 medals in SkillsUSA District competition
