JCPS Students Earn Top Honors At State SkillsUSA Competition

More than a dozen students from the Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) District recently earned top honors at the SkillsUSA state championships in Louisville. Students from nine JCPS high schools competed in the annual competition, which gives students from across Kentucky the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and expertise in a variety of in-demand career areas. SkillsUSA Kentucky is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives working together to ensure the state has a skilled workforce.

JCPS students brought home a total of 17 awards in categories that included Heavy Equipment Training, Automotive Refinishing Technology, Computer Programming and Technical Drafting. The students are enrolled in career-theme schools in JCPS, where they invest time developing marketable skills in high-demand fields.

Winners from JCPS include:

• Skylar Sample, Fairdale, Heavy Equipment (First)
• Curtis Simmons, Fairdale, Heavy Equipment (Second)
• William Propes, Fairdale, Heavy Equipment (Third)
• Kaylyn Wade, Pleasure Ridge Park, Photo Art Display (First)
• Abigail Stewart, Pleasure Ridge Park, Advertising Design (First)
• Rawan Saleh, Fern Creek, Advertising Design (Second)
• Sean Riggle, Southern, Automotive Refinishing Technology (First)
• Aaron Araujo, Southern, Collision Repair Technology (First)
• Iosef Casas, Fern Creek, Computer Programming (First)
• Breagan Craig, Fern Creek, Computer Programming (Second)
• Kaylyn Wade, Pleasure Ridge Park, Photography (First)
• Patrick Cleary, Pleasure Ridge Park, Photography (Third)
• Justin Schneider, Jeffersontown, Technical Drafting (Second)
• Daniel Berry, Jeffersontown, Technical Drafting (Third)
• Collin Bradley, Roderick Coleman and Tyler Zickel, Southern, Community Service (First)
• Skylar Sample, Fairdale, Extemporaneous Speaking (First)
• Jameir Kirkpatrick, Iroquois, Prepared Speech (Second)

First-place winners will have the opportunity to compete in the national SkillsUSA championship in June, which is being at the Kentucky Expo Center. More than 16,000 people — including students, teachers and business partners — are expected to participate in the weeklong event.