Minuteman Students Earn 14 Medals At State SkillsUSA Conference

In photo, Minuteman High School student Emily Hawkins of Lexington is jubilant when she accepts her gold medal recently at the State SkillsUSA Conference. Photo courtesy Alice Ofria.

By Judy Bass

MARLBOROUGH - Students from Minuteman High School in Lexington earned 14 medals at the SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference from April 25-27, 2019.

SkillsUSA is a national organization that allows students in career and technical education to compete in a host of rigorous technical and leadership competitions.

Minuteman’s SkillsUSA chapter advisors are instructors Terry Regan and Alice Ofria.

The medal winners from Minuteman, their hometowns, grade level, technical program at Minuteman, the category they competed in and medals were as follows:

Emily Hawkins (Lexington), Grade 11, Health Assisting, Action Skills, Gold

Ryan Garrant (Wilmington), Grade 10, Environmental Science, Career Pathways – Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources, Silver

Leo Pettersen (Lexington), Grade 10, Environmental Science, Career Pathways – Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources, Silver

Louis Savarino (Lexington), Grade 10, Environmental Science, Career Pathways – Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources, Silver

Tyler Ferrin (Tewksbury), Grade 12, Biotechnology, Career Pathways – Industrial and Engineering Technology, Gold

Benjamin Keaton (Concord), Grade 12, Biotechnology, Career Pathways – Industrial and Engineering Technology, Gold

Matthew Larzelere (Stoneham), Grade 12, Biotechnology, Career Pathways – Industrial and Engineering Technology, Gold

Julia Gomes (Medford), Grade 11, Cosmetology, Cosmetology Over 500 Hours, Gold

Jason Kim (Belmont), Grade 11, Environmental Science, Entrepreneurship, Bronze

Evan Nardone (Wakefield), Grade 11, Biotechnology, Entrepreneurship, Bronze

John O’Keefe (Stow), Grade 11, Biotechnology, Bronze

Jack Ryan (Lexington), Grade 11, Entrepreneurship, Bronze

Samuel Harris (Lancaster), Grade 12, Engineering Technology, Robotics, Gold

Sophia Li (Acton), Grade 12, Engineering Technology, Robotics, Gold

Sage Romano (Woburn) was selected as a National Voting Delegate, and Ethan Moore (Arlington) and Jordan Mills (Waltham) were awarded the Jannine Baker Legacy Award, which has special meaning for those who had the privilege of knowing Jannine during her time as a teacher and SkillsUSA Advisor at Minuteman.

The seven gold medalists and National Voting Delegate will go to Louisville, KY, to compete in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference from June 24-29, 2019.

A special thank you to Minuteman staff members Alice Ofria, Denise D’Ambrosia, Alex Peters, Pat Rafter and Mark Jurman for all their help, flexibility, and resourcefulness during the conference.

Anyone interested in applying to Minuteman High School is urged to act promptly. Applications for admission are coming in quickly due to the high level of public interest in high quality career and technical education that will be operating in the new Minuteman High School currently under construction. Please visit www.minuteman.org and go to the Admissions tab on the home page.

Minuteman is four months away from moving into a $145M facility that has been designed to support a robust college and career academy model. The academy model was adopted by staff and administration to create smaller “schools within a school” thereby promoting more personalized learning founded upon close relationships between students and teachers. The Minuteman college and career academy model integrates rigorous academics with relevant technical programming in occupational areas providing individual economic opportunity. The new facility will accommodate project-based learning across disciplines, requiring students to learn how to work on a diverse team, solve problems and think critically. These are essential 21st-century skills that students practice and apply in a variety of school-based and work-based environments.

As an accredited member of the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC), Minuteman inspires all students to attain their full potential, accelerate their learning, and become purposeful citizens in the global community.