Southwest Georgia Technical College Students Win at State Level SkillsUSA Competition

Seventeen Southwest Georgia Technical College students have returned from a state convention and meeting of the SkillsUSA organization in Dublin, Georgia. The event included competition in various technical education categories and was attended by more than 500 Georgia technical college students and instructors.

Tammy Barnes, a SWGTC drafting technology student won first place honors in the Technical Drafting division at the competition.  Barnes’ first place finish lands her a spot in the national Skills competition to be held later this year in Kansas City.

Other SWGTC winners were Jan Sloan, who won 2nd in medical Math,  Lana Layton, 3rd place in the nursing assistant category, and  teammates Janet Musgrove, Nicki Keller-Josey, Tommy James, and Blair Jones garnered third place honors in the “Knowledge Bowl” competition. Instructors Terry Harper, Flip Harper, and Thomas Graham accompanied the SWGTC students at the event.

 “We are very proud of Tammy and are excited that she will be representing SWGTC in Kansas City,” said her instructor Ralph Griffiths. “She is a great student and I was not surprised in the least by her first place win in the state competition.”

“We extend a special thank you to our faculty members who serve as advisors for the SkillsUSA group and to those who accompanied the students to the State competition,” said Joyce Halstead, Vice President for Student Affairs. “We appreciate the time and talent they devote to their students. They are excellent role models for our students.”

Other students attending the event from SWGTC were Vanessa Clay, Molley Sutton, Irene Mickens, Toni Hammer, Virginia Bailey, Carlton Crumidy, Ben Stegall, Megan Bowen, and Tommy Phelps.

SkillsUSA is a national organization designed to unite students enrolled in trade, industrial, technical, and health education. The development of leadership abilities through participation in educational, vocational, civic, recreational, and social activities are encourage by the organization. Other objectives include fostering a deep respect for the dignity of work, establishing realistic vocational goals, enthusiasm for learning, and promoting high standards in trade ethics, workmanship, scholarship and safety.