Community Corner
Minuteman High School students earn medals at National SkillsUSA Competition
By Judy Bass
Five students from Minuteman High School in Lexington earned medals at the 48th Annual National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC) held by SkillsUSA, a national organization for vocational students in high school and college.
SkillsUSA fosters good citizenship, leadership, teamwork, and excellence in all aspects of career-related responsibilities and performance. SkillsUSA competitions are held yearly at the local, state and national levels, with bronze, silver, and gold medals awarded for achievement.
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The NLSC, which involved some 15,000 students, teachers, and business partners, according to SkillsUSA’s web site, took place in Kansas City from June 24-28, 2013. Nearly 6,000 students from across the nation vied for honors in almost 100 diverse categories.
Bronze medals were awarded to Ian Smith (Arlington), Christine Hamilton (Stow), and Anthony Senesi (Arlington), all members of the Class of 2013, in Career Pathways Showcase for their project on Eelgrass Restoration, and also to Annie Viggh (Boxborough) and Solomon Rubin (Arlington) for Web Design. Christine qualified for Nationals all four years (in three different competitions) and won two silvers and one bronze medal. Ian Smith was two-for-two in National competitions with a silver and a bronze medal. Anthony also qualified for Nationals all four years, twice as a State Officer, and twice as a contestant.
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Other competitors this year included Matt Brophy (Wilmington) in Postgraduate Automotive and Steven Tutein (Belmont) in Customer Service. Isabelle Sanseverino (Medford) and Hannah Whitney (Acton) also attended as State gold medalists in Sustainability Solutions, but were not eligible to compete at the National competition due to a change in the rules. These four students, as well as Annie and Solomon, are all eligible to compete again next year.
“All students had lots of fun, and represented Minuteman well,” said instructors Terry Regan and Crystal Auger, Minuteman’s SkillsUSA chapter advisors.