Five students from the Carbon Career and Technical Institute attended the SkillsUSA’s National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta in June. All five students won bronze medals.

“This is the first time I attended a trip where all the students we took, placed,” Kevin Kuehner, SkillsUSA adviser, said to the CCTI Joint Operating committee.

Kyle Kuznicki, a senior from Lehighton in the Precision Machine Technology program at CCTI, won a bronze medal for CNC 2-axis turner programmer.

Jalin Burns, a senior from Palmerton in the digital marketing and business fundamentals program, won a bronze medal for customer service.

And the team of Savanna Marsteller, a senior from Jim Thorpe studying graphic design; Kadence Tully, a junior from Palmerton also in the graphic design; and Ashton Yost, a senior from Palmerton studying auto service and technology, took home a bronze medal in occupational health and safety, multiple.

TV personality Mike Rowe was a guest speaker at the SkillsUSA program

“Mike Rowe said in his remarks that we need skilled trades people,” Kuehner shared with the committee. “And this place here (CCTI) is a gold mine. That’s what the whole SkillsUSA is about.”

Kuehner shared that students not only receive a medal for placing in competitions; but also receive scholarships, tools, and/or monetary gifts. He further spoke of the opportunities our students have attending a career and technical school learning a trade and going out into the local workforce.

David Reinbold, CCTI’s administrative director, shared that Kuehner has had six students receive national medals throughout his career as a SkillsUSA adviser.

Reinbold read words written by Sue Ann Gerhard, administrative assistant to the principal who stepped in as a chaperone to attend the national competition. In a letter she sent to the Joint Operating committee, she spoke of her positive experience and the opportunity technical schools provide high school students.

“As our society continues to evolve, we need skilled professionals to build, maintain and innovate. Supporting programs like SkillsUSA is not just important — it’s vital,” Gerhard wrote.