Lake Area Technical College Student Places 1st in the Nation at SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 6, 2016 – WATERTOWN, SD Lake Area Technical College Law Enforcement student, Jesse Thorne of Huron, SD earned a gold medal in the Criminal Justice skills competition during the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference held on June 22nd & 23rd in Louisville, Kentucky. Lake Area Technical College Cosmetology student Zyler Thompson of Watertown, SD placed fourth overall.
The SkillsUSA Championships, at which more than 6,000 students compete in 100 occupational and leadership skill areas, is held in conjunction with the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, attended by more than 16,000 secondary and post-secondary students.
Other students from Lake Area Technical College who attended and competed are Chance Britain, Hot Springs, SD (Welding Fabrication), Dylan Hill, Onida, SD (Welding), Wyatt Holmstrem, Castlewood, SD (Welding Fabrication), Kaitlin Janssen, South Shore, SD (Internetworking), Daniel Kallemeyn, Lake Benton, SD (Welding Fabrication), Joshua Lamb, Onida, SD (Automotive Service), Steven Remington, Black Hawk, SD (Diesel Equipment), and Amberiah Smith, Woonsocket, SD (Esthetics). Students earned the right to compete when they won first place at the South Dakota SkillsUSA Championships this spring.
SkillsUSA is a national organization that serves technical, skilled and service occupation instructional programs in public high schools, career and technical centers and schools and two- and four-year colleges. SkillsUSA annually serves more than 320,000 student members annually, organized into more than 3,900 schools and 52 state and territorial associations (including the Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands).
SkillsUSA helps students discover and grow their career passions. As a nationwide partnership of students, instructors and industry working together, SkillsUSA works to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA programs teach leadership, citizenship and character development to complement technical skill training. The organization emphasizes respect for the dignity of work, ethics, workmanship, scholarship and safety.
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. For more information, go to: www.skillsusa.org.
PHOTO CAPTION: Lake Area Technical College President, Mike Cartney and Jesse Thorne.
