Gillette College Students Excel at Wyoming SkillsUSA Competition

Press Release – Gillette College students took home the High Chapter Award at the Wyoming SkillsUSA competition in Casper, which concluded last week. After the results were tallied, they won 11 medals in nine categories.

SkillsUSA prepares America’s high-performance workers and provides quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development. Gillette College students enrolled in technical education programs compete in SkillsUSA each year and consistently excel – this year was no different.

In team competition, students Seth Bayles of Broadus, Mont., Spencer Fortner of Biddle, Mont., Selby Graham of Rozet, Wyo., Kade Mennie of Gillette, Troy Thompson of Sturgis, S.D. and Andrew George of Gillette won the Quiz Bowl category. Joe Jackson of Vale, S.D., Colby Uran of Casper, Wyo. and Nate Hagen of Gillette also took home a silver medal in the Welding Fabrication category.

Gillette College students also won five gold, one silver, and three bronze medals in individual competitions. Gold medal winners included Fortner in Diesel Equipment Technology; Uran in Welding; Mikayla Plush of Gillette in Job Interview; Rhyley Daro of Gillette in Customer Service and John Gropper in Job Skill Demonstration.

Bronze medal winners included Oliver Lunbery of Red Cloud, Neb. in Diesel Equipment Technology; William Sonnie of Gillette in Job Interview; and Keith Kinsinger of Gillette in Precision Machining. All students and teams that won gold medals will go on to compete at the national SkillsUSA competition in Louisville, Kentucky in June.

“These incredible results are a testament to both the hard work of our students and our talented and dedicated instructors, said Jed Jensen, dean of career and technical education. “It’s going to be exciting to see students carry this positive momentum forward to the national competition in Kentucky this June.”

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