Hundreds of high school students, advisors, industry partners, and elected officials attended this year’s rally held on the Wilkes Community College campus, on Monday, February 26, 2024. “This year’s event was the largest in our history of hosting the regional rally,” says Jamie Reavis, SkillsUSA advisor/event coordinator, “with over 535 students competing in the skills contests.”
There were over 75 contests offered at the WCC competition. High schools from Alexander, Alleghany, Avery, Burns, Caldwell, Catawba, Cranberry Middle School, Davie, East Davidson, East Surry, Forbush, Iredell-Statesville Career Academy, Mooresville, North Iredell, South Iredell, Starmount, Surry Central, West Caldwell, North Wilkes, East Wilkes, West Wilkes, Wilkes Central, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Career Center, as well as the Home School Association of North Carolina and Christian schools participated in this event.
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry representatives working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. It helps students excel in their respective trade areas. SkillsUSA provides an opportunity for students to showcase the skills they received at their educational institution and see how their education compares to other schools in our state and nation. SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, including health occupations.
In addition to the competition, students also explored career opportunities with the Career Showcase segment of the event. This aspect is designed to increase student awareness of the programs offered at Wilkes Community College and to encourage students to take advantage of Career & College Promise high school course offerings that will lead to college certificates and degrees. This year WCC had 49 Career and College Promise students that competed with 46 of these placing in the top five.
Students not involved in competitions were able to meet with WCC representatives and tour four areas of the college that focus on direct classroom-to-careers programs. They had an opportunity to ask questions and see demonstrations as they visited various areas on campus.
Wilkes Community College is proud to host the SkillsUSA Northwest Region Rally and Career Showcase each year and appreciates the community support and help from WCC’s SkillsUSA club. The college would like to recognize and thank the following sponsors: WCC faculty and staff, Adams Old Castle – Williams Roberts, Blevins Building Supply, Blue Ridge Tractor, McNeill Nissan, Flowers Auto Parts, HD Supply, High Country Paint, Home Builders Association of Wilkes and Yadkin, Impact Collision, John Deere with James River Equipment, Kris Dell Applied Software, L & A Emergency, Inc., Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, ARC 3 Welding Supply, Mike’s Body Shop, North Wilkesboro and Wilkesboro Volunteer Fire Departments, O’Reilly’s Auto Parts, Payne Power Equipment, Pine Hall Brick, Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of NC, Inc., Snap-on Tools, Specialty Fabricators, Statesville Brick, The Welding Company, Triad Freightliner, Western Carolina Electric, Weyerhaeuser, and Yadkin Well Company, Inc.
Thank you to our lead sponsor Window World, Inc., and the following event sponsors; Carolina West Wireless, Duke Energy Foundation, and the Town of North Wilkesboro. Additional monetary donations were given by Becky Kennedy, Kim Bell, Cynthia Smith, Devin Royal, Jamie Reavis, Jere Miles, Jody Call, Matthew Ham, Michael Wingler, Steven Foster, Talina Pipes, Nina Miller, and Stacie Taylor. A special thank you to Window World for providing lunch for the SkillsUSA construction contestants.
For more information about the SkillsUSA program, contact Jamie Reavis at 336-838-6192 or ljreavis691@wilkescc.edu. To learn about the college-to-career programs, contact WCC Student Services at 336-838-6135.
Front row l-r: WCC Foundation Executive Director, Allison Phillips; Director of Franchise Advancement | Window World, Inc., David Mastin; WCC VP of Instruction, Kristen Macemore; Dean of Applied Career Technology, Ronald Dollyhite; and WCC Lead Construction Instructor, Shane Allen; and Chair of Applied Career Technology, Stacie Taylor.
Middle row – Corban Huffman, Alan Lopez-Aguilar, Raymond Keepers, Francisco Mendez, Anna Ellison, Noah Hall, Brian Gilreath, Jamie Reavis, Gavin Dowell, Brennan Arnder, and Moses Reyes-Lopez.
Back row – Chase Huffman, Jacob Call, Dusty Sigmon, Tate Samples, Grayson Watson, Axel Bonilla-Mejia, Alexi Ramires-Lopez, Eli Greene, Dylan Carpenter, and Joel Day.