Fairfield Reporter

Fairfield Career Center held its local SkillsUSA competition and now has its slate of students ready to represent the school at the SkillsUSA regional competition set for March 4, 2023, at Eastland Career Center. A total of 21 students have earned the privilege and have chosen to compete at the next level of the SkillsUSA competitions, while a handful of students also qualified for the state competition.

Fairfield Career Center held its local competition within its own walls in late January. First-place finishers in each qualifying event not only got to celebrate a victory but also were extended the chance to move on to the regional competition. 

Malachi Holewinski (Sr., Reynoldsburg) took first place in both events he competed in, which included the First Aid/CPR and the Job Interview events. By rule, he is only allowed to compete in one event at the regional level and chose to move on in the Job Interview event. 

Twenty of his classmates will join him at Eastland Career Center on March 4, 2023, for the regional competition. 

Some of the events held during the local competition are referred to as “straight to state” competitions in which the winner will advance past the regional competition and automatically qualify for the SkillsUSA Ohio state conference. Eight FCC students took top honors in those respective events and will now prepare to showcase their skills on April 25-26, 2023. On an individual level, Automotive junior Isaac Rowley (Fairfield Christian Academy) took first in the Maintenance and Light Repair event, while seniors Steve Schulze (Reynoldsburg) and Shalyn Newell (Bloom-Carroll) placed first in the HVAC/R and Dental Assisting categories, respectively.

Rounding out the straight-to-state qualifiers was a team of five Cosmetology students that took first place in the Quiz Bowl. The team was comprised of juniors Alexiya Lucas (Fairfield Union), Naomi Watson (Pickerington Central) and Katelynn Tipple (Fairfield Union) and seniors Tori Glover (Pickerington Central) and Aliza Bracewell (Pickerington North).

Senior Kole Mustard (Canal Winchester, Construction) had a tight turnaround for his regional competition after placing first overall in the local carpentry event. On February 17, he was the first to compete in the regional round and proudly reported back a third-place finish, which now qualifies him for SkillsUSA states. 

While the events were held only on a local level and do not advance to the regional competition, juniors Charles Cross (Fairfield Union) and Clayton Groff (Amanda-Clearcreek) took first in the junior-level Criminal Justice competition while junior Aiden Moore (Bloom-Carroll) won the junior-level HVAC/R competition. 

A complete list of regional and state qualifiers is outlined below.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. A nonprofit national education association, SkillsUSA serves middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary students preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations. SkillsUSA serves more than 333,527 students and instructors annually. SkillsUSA has served nearly 14 million annual members cumulatively since 1965 and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor as a successful model of employer-driven workforce development.

Original source can be found here.