More than 30 Capital BOCES Career and Tech Students Earn Regional Honors

ALBANY – Thirty-one Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education students showed their in-depth knowledge of the skilled trades and earned medals at the regional SkillsUSA competition Wednesday, March 19 in Albany.

The 12 first place winners and other medal winners earned their way to the state SkillsUSA competition in Syracuse next month.

The student competitors, who hail from school districts as far-reaching as Bethlehem and Cobleskill-Richmondville, showed expertise in areas as diverse as electrical wiring, public speaking, automotive repair, job interviewing, and cooking. They competed against their peers from Questar III and several other BOCES during a day filled with events at the Career & Technical education Center – Albany Campus, as well as Schenectady County Community College (SCCC) and the International Union of Operating Engineers training facility in Albany.

The state SkillsUSA competition will be conducted April 23-25 at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. Winners of that event will advance to the national competition in June.

“Congratulations to our scholars. They all did a fantastic job and we are very proud of them,” said Debra Toy, advisor at the SkillsUSA organization on the Capital Region BOCES Career & Technical Education Center - Albany Campus.

Students said they are excited by their medals and many are looking forward to the state competition.

“I am looking forward to competing at the next level and seeing how I do,” said Jeffrey Mulhern, who won first place Heavy Equipment Operations.

This year’s regional SkillsUSA medalists and prize winners, the competition they placed in, their BOCES program and home school district includes:

First Place

Jeffrey Mulhern, Heavy Equipment Operations, Heavy Equipment Repair and Operation, Duanesburg 

Second Place

Peyton Mazzariello, Welding, Welding and Metal Fabrication, Cobleskill-Richmondville (CRCS)

Third Place

Lydia Waage, Prepared Speech, Heavy Equipment Repair and Operation, CRCS

The team of Giavanna Robinson, Sharon Springs and Brooke'lyn Bender, CRCS, Promotional Bulletin Board 

Ed Chase, Auto Vehicle Maintenance Basic, Automotive Trades Technology, BHBL

Hadassah Harrell, Cosmetology Jr., Cosmetology, BHBL

Nick Smith, Diesel Equipment Technology, Diesel Tech, Middleburgh

Logan Englund, Electrical Construction Wiring, Electrical Trades II, Schenectady

SkillsUSA is a career and technical student organization serving more than 395,000 high school and students. The organization promotes personal and professional growth and offers students the opportunity to compete at the local, regional, state and national levels.