Regional qualifying rounds for SkillsUSA are now complete. Thirty-five students from Northland Pioneer College (NPC) and the Northern Arizona Vocational Institute of Technology (NAVIT) are now gearing up for the statewide competition which will be held on April 22 and 23 in Phoenix. The regional SkillsUSA events included high school competitors from Arizona’s District 7, which is comprised of Blue Ridge, Colorado City, Dishchiibikoh Community School, Flagstaff, Fredonia Moccasin School, Grand Canyon, Heber-Overgaard, Holbrook, Joseph City, NAVIT, Page, Round Valley, Saint Johns, Show Low, Snowflake, Whiteriver, Williams, and Winslow Unified School Districts.
The cosmetology SkillsUSA event took place at NPC’s Show Low campus on March 3. Despite the windy conditions outside, it was a great hair day inside. In the post-secondary division, Winslow NPC cosmetology student Jessica Lowry took first place, with fellow cosmetology student Deneeka Yazzie finishing second. In the high school division, Show Low NAVIT cosmetology student Audra Rhoton finished first. She also received a scholarship to NPC. NAVIT cosmetology students Adriana Morales of Winslow and Trystyn Heisler of Show Low finished second and third, respectively.
Later that week, on March 7, with a snowstorm threatening the horizon, NPC’s new Skills Center at NPC’s Show Low campus hosted the regional competition in automotive. Parks Adams of Paige High School took first place. Snowflake NAVIT’s Victor Woodside placed second, and fellow NAVIT Snowflake student Bayden Matyas finished third.
Meanwhile, also on March 7, the carpentry, electrical, and masonry competitions were held at NPC’s Skills Center in Holbrook. In the post-secondary construction division, NPC Holbrook student Jeremy Begay took first. In the secondary division, Onnen Tsiniginie from Page High School took first. Fellow Page High School student Caleb Tsinnijinnie placed second, and Snowflake NAVIT student Isaac Magill took third. In the electrical competition, Snowflake High School’s Colton Reid placed first, Anthony Mckey second, and Tyrone Yazzie third. In the masonry competition, Samual Noble of Snowflake took first place.
NPC’s Holbrook Skills Center also hosted the regional welding SkillsUSA competitions on March 7. Flagstaff High School’s Ethan Overton finished first in the secondary individual welding competition. Snowflake NAVIT student Owen Rhoton finished second, and NPC St. Johns student Cesar Cox took third.
In welding fabrication, first place went to the NAVIT team from Snowflake, comprised of Dallan Rawlings, Easton Hatch, and Cohen Hudson. Second place went to the NAVIT team from St. Johns, Brennon Leslie, Ryland Richard, and Ethan Skousen. Page High School’s Shaandiin Tsinnijinnie, Daren Whitehat and Dylan Whitehat took third.
St. Johns NAVIT students crushed the field of welding sculpture competitors. Pacer Wiltbank took first, Elana Tullie placed second, and Desmond Brown rounded out the group with third place.
For the job interview event, NAVIT Snowflake’s Alyson Stephens received the gold; Audra Rhoton the silver; and Mariska Reinhardt took the bronze in the secondary division. In the post-secondary division Jessica Lowry, a student at NPC’s Holbrook campus earned the gold.
For the job skills demo, NAVIT St. Johns student Makell Jensen placed first. Ortencia Salazar of Holbrook took second. Snowflake’s Kate Schnepf took the bronze. In the post-secondary division, Deneeka Yazzie took first. In the job skill open demo secondary division, Snowflake NAVIT student Trystyn Heisler finished first. Classmate Kirstyn Pettingill took second and Adriana Morales of Holbrook took third.
Battling brutally cold winds and each other in competitions of ladders, hoses, turnouts, ropes, fitness, and more, the March 7th regional firefighting competition was held at NPC’s Northeastern Arizona Training Center (NATC) in Taylor. Drake Doubler took first place, while fellow firefighting students Anthony Seitz and Isaac Oakes took second and third-place awards.
SkillsUSA is an applied method of instruction for preparing America’s high-performance workers enrolled in public career and technical programs. It provides quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship, and character development. It builds and reinforces self-confidence, work attitudes, and communication skills. SkillsUSA is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and is cited as a “successful model of employer-driven youth development training program” by the U.S. Department of Labor and is an OSHA Alliance partner.
