CNM Students Set Record with 11 SkillsUSA Medals
There has been a longstanding tradition of excellence for CNM students who compete in the annual SkillsUSA National Championships. This year, however, CNM’s team of SkillsUSA students – who are supported by the college's highly regarded faculty members and advisors – raised the bar of excellence even higher.
CNM students hauled in 11 medals at the national event, which is the largest showcase in the country for career and technical education students. More than 5,000 students and 1,500 judges participated in the multi-million dollar event that was held in Kansas City, Mo., in late June.
The 11 medals, which included two gold medals, set a new school record for CNM, beating the previous high of nine. Another five students placed in the top 10 of their categories. The gold medals were won by Chris Castro (pictured above) in Culinary Arts and Jim Chong in Residential (electrical) Wiring.
“I’m really proud of this group of students,” said CNM SkillsUSA advisor Alain Archuleta, also a faculty member in Applied Technologies. “They really worked hard. They left me speechless with all the medals and top 10 finishes.”
A total of 29 students from CNM qualified for the national event by winning competitions at the state level.
“People get wrapped up with the competitions and the medals, but we’re much more than that,” said Archuleta, who was the Region 5 SkillsUSA Advisor of the Year in 2005. “Gold medals are great, but our SkillsUSA students also participate in Service Learning (community volunteerism), which is a critical component for their overall development. And participating in SkillsUSA gives all the students an opportunity to network with industry professionals. We just had a student start a job on Monday as an aviation mechanic at Double Eagle Airport. He was able to get that job because of his involvement in the local SkillsUSA event.
“You don’t have to win a medal to benefit from SkillsUSA. I’ve been involved in it since 1987 and the reason I stay involved is because there are so many benefits for all of the students.”
According to its website, SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. SkillsUSA serves 300,000 students.
Gold Medalists
Jim Chong – Residential Wiring
Chris Castro – Culinary Arts
Silver Medalists
Lisa M. Kindle – Commercial Baking
Team of Maria Elena Chavez & Conrad Sanchez – Esthetics
Denver Dobbins – Geospatial Technology
Bronze Medalists
Team of Bryan Tenorio & Martin Mitchell – 3-D Visualization & Animation
John Michel – Criminal Justice
Eric See – Food & Beverage Service
Rachel Harris – Geospatial Technology
