Press release
Thirty-six Pioneer Career and Technology students participated in the SkillsUSA Ohio State Championships throughout the months of March and April at various locations around the state. These state-level events culminated in the SkillsUSA Ohio State Championship Awards Ceremony held on April 12, 2017 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Pioneer had the honor of being recognized as a SkillsUSA Quality Chapter as well as earning the Chapter of Distinction Award. Accepting these chapter-wide awards was Pioneer’s State Delegate Team of Jessica Beamer (Willard), Rebecca Gregg (Ontario), and Kyle Shope-Williams (Galion).
A unique contest held in Ohio is the T-Shirt Design contest, which was won by Xiola Polak Yocum (Bucyrus), a senior in Pioneer’s Media Communication program, whose design will be worn on the official SkillsUSA Ohio t-shirt by hundreds of attendees at the 2017 SkillsUSA National Championships.
Earning a gold medal for Motorcycle Service Technology was JC Clark (Crestline), a senior in Pioneer’s Power Equipment program. As Ohio’s first place winner, JC has qualified to compete at the SkillsUSA National Championships in Louisville, Kentucky this June! Earning a silver medal was Robert Owen (Northmor), a junior in Pioneer’s Power Equipment program, for Power Equipment Technology and our Performing Arts team of Haley Clingman (Bucyrus), Sadie Kurtzman (Crestline), Ben Oswalt (Lucas), Millie See (Buckeye Central), and Lelu Vandenberg (Ontario). Earning a bronze medal was Xiola Polak Yocum (Bucyrus) for Photography and our Performing Arts team of Olivia Dowell (Crestline), Evangeline Dunn (Ontario), Brenden Hughes (Bucyrus), Destiny Whitmer (Ontario), and Morgan Woetko (Wynford). Pioneer’s State Competitors also included William Barber (Crestview), Mariah Blankenship (Bucyrus), Shyanna Blevins (Colonel Crawford), Kasey Burton (Galion), Drake Delong (Colonel Crawford), Dillon James (Crestview), Parker Kennard (Plymouth), Michael Kitts (Ontario), Jacob Landis (Crestview), Erica Mabe (Shelby), Genesis Matos (Willard), Alejandra Metcalf (Willard), Garrett Nedrow (Ontario), Logan Poole (Willard), Marcus Ricker (Bucyrus), Trevor Ritz (Shelby), Dakota Shafer (Madison), Harrison Shoup (Crestview), Dusty Thomas (Galion), and Trent Twining (Crestview).
We are very proud of all our students and extend our congratulations to our medalists!
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA is a national organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations, including health occupations and for further education.
Pioneer Career and Technology Center has been providing quality career-technical education to high school juniors and seniors for over 45 years. We serve over 1,175 students representing over 35 Career Tech Programs and 14 partner schools and offer adult education programs. Visit our website at www.go2pioneer.com.