Sixteen Doña Ana Community College (DACC) students competed against hundreds of students from other New Mexico community colleges, each other and the clock in various contests demonstrating proficiency in their major fields of study. Seven were awarded as best in the state. All competitions were judged by professionals from the various disciplines. The SkillsUSA state championships were held in Albuquerque last week.
Bringing home gold medals were: Alejandro Angel, automotive technology in job skill demonstration, Michael Zischkau, computer technology in computer maintenance, Noemi Rosales, computer technology in internetworking, Doug Bourdon, electronics technology in electronics technology, Arturo Lara, construction technology in plumbing, Fidel Garcia, computer technology in computer programming and Arrowhead Early College High School student Aaron Rios in high school computer programming. The seven gold medalists qualified to compete at the national competition held in Louisville, KY in June where more than 6,000 students are expected to compete.
Second place silver medals were awarded to Nancy Villalobos, building construction in customer service, Michael Zischkau, computer technology in extemporaneous speaking, and Ramon Ramirez, computer technology in computer maintenance. Bronze winners included Gabriel Loera III, construction technology in plumbing and prepared speech, Doug Bourdon, electronics technology in job interview, Frank Bonnevie, electronics technology in electronics, and Jon Wayne Krein in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration competition.
Other DACC participants represented the college well and included Claudia Aguero, Jeremy Laycock, Joni Lujan, and Jordan Martinez. Team coaches included DACC instructors Kevin Gall, Edward Lopez, Wade Matthews, Gustavo Pina, John Carter, Tim Chappell, James Lamoureux, and Marco Garay.
Saundra Castillo, DACC Division Dean of Advanced Technologies and club sponsor was proud of all DACC participants, “Our community college and county were well represented by our students who showed great enthusiasm, a positive attitude and provided an outstanding performance.”
SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving students enrolled in career and technical education training programs in high schools and colleges. Their mission is to empower students to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. SkillsUSA improves the quality of America’s skilled workforce through a structured program of citizenship, leadership, employability, technical and professional skills training.