JWU Wins Big at 2019 SkillsUSA Conference

SkillsUSA’s annual National Leadership & Skills Conference is one of the best ways for JWU students to test their technical, presentation and leadership skills on a national stage.

The 2019 event brought more than 6,500 students from across the U.S. — all regional winners in their career fields — to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete in more than 100 trade, industrial, STEM, health and leadership skill competition areas. This year, 14 JWU students competed or took part in leadership events.

Of that group, 10 JWU students competed — with 7 of them placing in the top 10. The results:

• Gold: Drew DuBoff, Customer Service
• Silver: Jacob Manchester and Matt Virian, Cyber Security
  Sammy Jijjon-Bacilla (CLT), Culinary Arts
• Bronze: Madelyn Valenzuela, Commercial Baking
• Tenth Place: Savannah Campbell, Culinary Arts
  Benjamin Lind, Internetworking

Drew DuBoff and Joe Castellano served as judges for the high school competitions, while Daylan Torres continued to prep for the 2019 WorldSkills competition in Kazan, Russia, by conducting public practice sessions on site and doing a quick on-air demo for a Louisville news station.

ABOVE LEFT: DAYLAN TORRES PRACTICES HIS RUSSIA DEMO. RIGHT: JWU PROVIDENCE STUDENTS + SKILLSUSA OFFICERS KARLISLE WILBUR AND BROOKE GATCHELL.

In addition, Graphic Design student Karlisle Wilbur was elected to the 2019-20 SkillsUSA national officer team. (She succeeds Hospitality student Brooke Gatchell, who served as a national officer during the 2018-19 academic year.)

Thanks to the following faculty advisors for their guidance and support:

• Providence: Christina Harvey and Mark Harvey
• North Miami: Michael Angnardo
• Charlotte: Jerry Lanuzza

SkillsUSA and NSOs at JWU
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry organizations focused on equipping students with the technical, academic and personal skills to succeed in their chosen careers. Learn more about getting involved in SkillsUSA and other National Student Organizations (NSOs) at JWU:

THE JWU NSO TEAM IN LOUISVILLE, LEFT-RIGHT: KARLISLE WILBUR, WILFREDO ORTIZ, MADELYN VALENZUELA, SAVANNAH CAMPBELL, DREW DUBOFF, DEVON TRUELOVE, MATT VIRIAN, JACOB MANCHESTER, BEN LIND, CHRISTINA HARVEY AND MARK HARVEY.