Hunterdon County Polytech Students Compete in SkillsUSA

Flemington, N.J. - Hunterdon County Polytech Career and Technical High School and the Adult & Continuing Education program celebrated 14 medal winners this year in the NJ State SkillsUSA Championship. At an awards ceremony held Saturday, April 13, following the final day of competition, 14 students learned that they had placed in their respective categories; five of those students learned that they had topped their competition. These five first-place finishers qualify to move on to nationals.

Five gold medal winners include Adult Education student Camryn Burns in Advanced Cosmetology (Post-Secondary); Polytech students Molly Parsons and Maya Sorhage, who competed together in 3D Visualization and Computer Animation; Polytech’s Tim Roberts in Restaurant Services; and Adult Education’s Lexi Smith in Nail Care (Post-Secondary).

SkillsUSA Championships feature competitions that showcase the skills of career and technical education students. The philosophy behind the competition is to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and to keep training relevant to employers’ needs. Competitions start locally and then move to the state and national levels. The national competition takes place in Louisville, Ky., June 24-28.

“I congratulate not only our SkillsUSA winners, who displayed true mastery of their respective fields, but all of our competitors,” said Kimberly Metz, Ed.D., Hunterdon County Vocational School District superintendent. “All of our students worked hard to hone their skills for competition and displayed poise and maturity throughout the experience. Their involvement in SkillsUSA alone will pay dividends in terms of their future success.”

Congratulations to all SkillsUSA winners from Hunterdon County Vocational School District:

Automotive Service Technology
Silver – Patrick Willey
Bronze – Austin Tarby
Automotive Refinishing Technology
Silver – Jayden Melicharek
Bronze – Graham Loenser
Custom Automotive Painting
Silver – Jessica Gamatko and David McCrone
3-D Visualization & Animation
Gold – Molly Parsons and Maya Sorhage
Silver – Georgia DiRoberto and Jack Hannon
Collision Repair Technology
Silver – Matt Bradner
Advanced Cosmetology (Post-Secondary)
Gold – Camryn Burns
Nail Care (Post-Secondary)
Gold – Lexi Smith
Restaurant Services
Gold - Timothy Roberts

Photo Caption: Hunterdon County Polytech Graphic Design II students Sophia Brotons and Alyssa Morris display their State Banner design, Jersey Grown, at SkillsUSA. The banner highlights famous individuals who are "Jersey grown."

Hunterdon County Polytech Career and Technical School is the largest component of Hunterdon County Vocational School District (HCVSD). Polytech is the district’s shared-time high school that prepares students for a seamless transition to college and career paths. HCVSD also operates an Adult and Continuing Education school and three science-based high school academies: the Biomedical Sciences Academy, the Computer Science and Applied Engineering Academy and the Environmental Sustainability and Engineering Academy. Learn more at www.hcvsd.org.

All pupils will be given equal opportunity for enrollment in programs operated by the Hunterdon County Vocational School District regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender, religion, disability, or socioeconomic status (34 C.F.R. Part 100, Appendix B, Section IV-A). No qualified handicapped person shall, on the basis of handicap, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity which receives federal financial assistance, et seq (34 C.F.R. Part 104.4(a)(b).