MCTEC students find success at national competitions

PRINCETON, W. Va. (WVVA) -Some students from Mercer County Technical Education Center are finding success in competitions, representing their area on both a state and national level.

After doing well in state competitions, two of their programs, SkillsUSA and the Grow Your Own teaching pathway, both helped represent West Virginia in national competitions.

Multiple Mercer County students went to Atlanta, Georgia, to compete in the National SkillsUSA competition in a variety of programs, with many placing in the top thirty and two in the top ten, against others from around the country.

Dawson Taylor and Brody Petersen got 4th place nationally in mobile robotics; Matthew Puckett, Lance Crotty, Gracie Holdren, and Kaitlyn Mathena got 7th place nationally in health knowledge bowl; Silas Hodges and Aaliyah Linkous got 11th place in urban search and rescue; Savannah Collins placed 13th nationally in medical math; Leah Johnson, Leah Pennington, and Kenzie Huffman received 15th place nationally in career pathway showcase; Elijah Wood placed 18th nationally in CNC 2 axis; Logan Cook, Trenton Hill, Graceanne Ennis, and Blake Bolton got 20th in TEAMWORKS nationally; and Madison Wimmer got 28th nationally for photography.

We spoke to Johnathon Meadows, vice president of region 1 West Virginia for SkillsUSA, who says representing themselves on a national scale helps students break stigma surrounding vo-tech education.

“Being able to show your skills on a national level just really helps you prove your worth...” says Meadows, “...and being able to show everybody that it is just a super valuable program to have is just amazing to me. Being able to show your worth, the skills that you are able to grow and capture through your education is just mind-blowing to me what people are able to accomplish.”

Students also participated in the “Educators Rising National Competition” in Orlando, Florida with Kacey McPeak placing 8th overall for her Lesson Plan and Delivery (STEM) lesson and Eden Basile winning a gold medal for first overall in the United States for her Lesson Plan and Delivery (Humanities) lesson.

Gold medalist Basile credits her win to her teacher and the encouragement she received at the Mercer County Technical Education Center.

“...Overall, this entire vo-tech has been so encouraging and so amazing to just uplift future teachers and people who want to be in this program and want to make a difference...” says Basile.

She adds: “This has opened up a lot of opportunities. I’m just a sophomore, so I have two more years to keep going back and improving and getting better, to get feedback from National judges and State judges, and we had some state officers and stuff there that you really just got to see a ton of feedback in what you can improve on, what you’re doing good on, so it’s really just a good opportunity to get your name out there to get yourself involved, to improve over all...”

Both Basile and Meadows encourage those interested to pursue an education in their respective programs, with Meadows encouraging them to pursue paths that let their skills shine.