Three Rutland area students are headed to Georgia this month to represent the area in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference.

By Emily Ely, for the Community News Service

Three Rutland County high school students will be heading to Atlanta this June to represent Vermont at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, after earning gold medals at the state competition held earlier this spring.

Brycen Gandin, of Rutland High School, along with Andrew Easter and Alyssa Raymond, of Otter Valley Union High School, were among dozens of Stafford Technical Center students who competed at the SkillsUSA Vermont Spring Leadership and Skills Conference, held April 8–10.

All three students took first place in their respective categories and will now move on to the national stage.

For Gandin and Easter, this marks their second trip to Nationals. The duo competed together in Additive Manufacturing, a contest that challenges students to design, print and revise a 3D-printed object using professional software and equipment.

When asked what the experience of nationals was previously, Gandin replied, “It was exciting. We didn’t really know what to expect, so, I mean, obviously we were scared.”

As for what it felt like to win?

“Shocking,” Easter said.

“We didn’t think we were going to win,” Gandin added.

Easter elaborated on the experience.

“Well, we were like, last year we were going up against a team that had won the year previous, and we thought there was no chance we were going to be able to beat them. They knew exactly what to expect in their competition,” he said.

Easter also serves as SkillsUSA Vermont’s state reporter.

“I manage all the social media and any news articles that are written from the state,” he said.

Joining them at Nationals for the first time will be Alyssa Raymond, who won gold in Early Childhood Education.

“I was so shocked,” Raymond said about her win. “There weren’t a lot of other people in my competition, but just the fact that I won, I put together that lesson plan that was good enough to be able to win at the state level, was shocking to me,” she said.

Heading to Atlanta has her feeling a mix of nerves and excitement.

“I’m really excited. I’m nervous because I’ve never flown. I haven’t been that far away from home in a long time. I don’t know; I’m excited to see what it will bring,” she said.

Cindy Dunigan, co-adviser for Stafford’s SkillsUSA program, said she sees the growth in students like these as the heart of why SkillsUSA matters.

“So, I’m in a weird position because I also work on the state level as the scores analyst. So, for me, it’s seeing the kids, the students push themselves outside the comfort zone, right? They’re scared. They’re nervous. There’s a lot of anxious feelings about it because it’s a big deal,” she said. “And so, I tell them, it’s OK to be anxious. It means you’re human. And then seeing them come out of their competition (saying), ‘I nailed it.’ ‘I feel so good about what I did,’” she said.

Stafford Technical Center had 97 students involved in SkillsUSA this year, representing multiple high schools throughout Rutland County. Students competed in a wide range of categories from plumbing and criminal justice to customer service and extemporaneous speaking.

With nationals scheduled for the week of June 23 in Atlanta, Georgia, the students will join more than 6,500 competitors from across the country. The multi-day event includes competitions, workshops, and a closing awards ceremony that caps off a week of intense, hands-on challenges.

Easter gave a piece of advice to other students who are thinking about participating in SkillsUSA but are still on the fence.

“I’d say take the leap, just go for it. What’s the worst that could happen? It’s not about winning, it’s about the friends you meet,” he said.

“And the skills you learn,” Gandin added. “You learn how to talk in front of people, you learn how to do all kinds of stuff like that.”

“I think the biggest thing is they get a chance to kind of show what they know. Even if they don’t medal, they show up and they try and they participate. And that makes them all winners in my eyes,” Dunigan said.

Via Community News Service, in partnership with Vermont State University Castleton.