(Originally published in the INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA Chandler Independent.)
Four Chandler-Gilbert Community College students recently placed among the top achievers at a national skills competition.
Robert Blum was awarded the "College Bronze medal in criminal justice at the 2024 SkillsUSA Championships, held in Atlanta on June 26 and 27.
The team that includes CGCC students Michael Ortiz, Javon Maxey and Kaitlyn Thogerson was awarded the same medal in American spirit.
The SkillsUSA Championships covers 1.79 million square feet, or 41 acres. Students were invited to the event to demonstrate their technical skills, workplace skills and personal skills in 115 hands-on competitions including robotics, automotive technology, drafting, criminal justice, aviation maintenance and public speaking.
Industry leaders from 850 businesses, corporations, trade associations and unions planned and evaluated the contestants against their standards for entry-level workers.
More than 1,200 industry judges and technical committee members participated this year.
Many winners also received industry prizes, tools of their trade or scholarships.
The medalists also received a Skill Point Certificate representing workplace readiness in the student’s occupational specialty.
As an indicator of proficiency, Skill Point Certificates were awarded to all national contestants who medaled or who met a threshold contest score for their event.
View the full list of winners at https://www.skillsusa-register.org/rpts/EventMedalists.aspx.
Note: These students are CGCC Administration of Justice Studies (AJS) Dual Enrollment (DE) students attending Williams Field High School. Herb Williams is the AJS DE instructor at Williams Field. He competes at the college level with his Dual Enrollment students representing CGCC. Year after year, he consistently has students place highly in the SkillsUSA competitions.