A team of three juniors from Venture Academy of Schools took home the gold in the SkillsUSA California competition at the State Leadership and Skill Conference, allowing them to represent the state in the national SkillsUSA competition this summer.
The team from Venture Academy consisted of Emily Phosalath, Alejandra Romero, and Evangalina Tristan. It took first place in the Career Pathways Showcase competition with a project representing the arts, media, and entertainment career sectors. In addition to being part of the gold-winning team, Evangalina Tristan was elected Regional Officer for SkillsUSA California's Region 5. She will be one of the state organization's seven high school officers and is the first Venture student to hold the statewide position.
The trio's winning presentation included video projects and a large cutout shaped like a camera. It highlighted the steps and skills it takes to make a career in film production. The students put in a lot of work, and it paid off, said Jory Kusy, one of the faculty advisors for the Venture Academy SkillsUSA chapter and the team's teacher at Venture's BrainworX Academy. "This shows that high school students who are passionate about their career pathways will succeed with hard work, determination, and perseverance."
The California competition and conference was held in Ontario from April 19-22. Students competed against each other in events allowing them to prove expertise in occupations such as electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting, and culinary arts. All contests are run with the help of industry, trade associations, and labor organizations. The SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference will be held in Louisville, Ky., from June 25-29.
Venture Academy is a charter school operated by the San Joaquin County Office of Education.
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of students, instructors and industry to ensure America has the skilled workforce it needs to stay competitive. Endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education, the association serves more than 335,000-member students and instructors each year in middle schools, high schools and colleges. For more information go to http://www.skillsusaca.org/.