By Daniel Johnson, Investigative Reporter
SkillsUSA winners head for nationals
The CNM chapter of SkillsUSA will send 19 students on to the national SkillsUSA competition this summer, Alain Archuleta, State Coordinator for SkillsUSA and part-time Electrical instructor, said.
The 19 students earned theirs spots in the nationals, which will be held in Kansas City, Mo. from June 24 to 28, by placing first in the state championship held April 4 through 6, he said.
CNM students took 19 gold medals, 19 silver medals and 15 bronze medals for a total of 53 medals during the state championships.
“The students that participated and represented their respective trades were awesome, but if they thought they were in a pressure cooker while competing at state, wait until they are on that national stage representing New Mexico instead of just CNM,” Archuleta said.
Lesia Luviano, Welding major, won the gold medal in Welding Sculpture and said the competition was not bad because it was her second year competing.
She plans to work on details and gain as much knowledge as possible before the national competition, she said.
“Getting to test your skill at this competition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and more of the student body should sign up to compete next year,” Luviano said.
Erin Mulligan, Transportation Technology major, won the silver medal for Extemporaneous Speaking, and said the competition was great because he felt little pressure and even without the gold he is still very proud and excited to have competed.
“You never want to under ]estimate your competition and always make sure you keep yourself in check by practicing,” he said.
Breanna Riley, a Culinary Arts major who won the silver medal for Commercial Baking, said practicing and working hard on what judges considered competitors’ mistakes is going to be the key to placing at Nationals.
Going to the national competition will be a challenge for all the competitors, but having the experience of the state competition under their belts will allow them to know what has to be improved for the national level, she said.
“I am so grateful for this opportunity, but I wish more students would participate because we could always send more people to represent New Mexico while being proud CNM students,” she said.
Archuleta said SkillsUSA is a wonderful organization in which students are allowed to receive education and training while taking responsibility for what they get out of it.
Win or lose, this experience will allow students a better opportunity to take what life throws at them, he said.
All the students participating are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty for this organization, he said
“I would love to see all participants medal, but they are all top guns in my book, no matter how they place at nationals. They may not realize it, but they all have golden hearts already and the doors of opportunity have opened wide for all of them,” Archuleta said.
2013 CNM SkillsUSA State Medalist
BIT-Business Information Technologies
Breanna Riley Baking-BIT 2nd
Kiyoko Masuoka Culinary-BIT 2nd
Tammy Hadley Customer Service 2nd
Rozlyn Griego Customer Service 3rd
AT-Applied Technologies
John Pierson ARDR 1st
Jarrod Watson ARDR 2nd
Patrick Podeyn ARDR 3rd
Alexxandria Snell Aviation 1st
Emilo Verastegui Aviation 2nd
Marshall Ruff Aviation 3rd
Edgar Coyle Cabinet Making 1st
Levi Barnes Cabinet Making 2nd
Gabriel Raab-faber Job Skill Demo Open 1st
Abran Salazar Carpentry 3rd
Rene Reyes Computer Maintenance Tech 1st
Thomas Balch Computer Maintenance Tech 2nd
Sheldon Blackhorse Computer Maintenance Tech 3rd
Kris Haverstick Diesel Equipment Technology 2nd
Michael Mortimer Electronics Technology 1st
Michael Gregory Electronics Technology 2nd
Duggan Matson Electronics Technology 3rd
Jason Stanley HVAC/ACHR 1st
Christopher Luu HVAC/ACHR 3rd
Patrick Sanchez Industrial Motor Control 1st
Daniel Roper Industrial Motor Control 2nd
Debby Oscar Industrial Motor Control 3rd
Christopher Lucero Plumbing 1st
Michael Sandoval Plumbing 2nd
Brandon Miller Plumbing 3rd
David Silva Power Equipment 1st
Alexander Weaver Precision Maching 1st
Natan Kollarik Precision Maching 2nd
John Lamar Precision Maching 3rd
Mark Nolan Related Technical Math 2nd
Benjamin Chaves Residential Wiring 1st
Anna McCall Residential Wiring 2nd
Juan Gabaldon Residential Wiring 3rd
Allen Arrrellano Welding 1st
Jimmy Chavez Welding Fabriation Team 1st
Ryan Jim 1st
Adam Avenetti 1st
Lesia Luviano Welding Sculptures 1st
Aaron Emillio Welding Sculptures 2nd
Leadership Events
Solomon Hill-Burke Extemporaneous Speaking 1st
Erin Mulligan Extemporaneous Speaking 2nd
Anna McCall Prepared Speech 3rd
Kimberly Hayden Job Interview 1st
John Abeyta Job Interview 3rd
Kyle Bacoccini Job Skill Demo A 3rd
Kimberly Warner Job Skill Demo Open 2nd
