Wallace State has seven students earn 1st place in state SkillsUSA competition
HANCEVILLE, ALA. – Wallace State Community College has once again set a new bar at the SkillsUSA state competition.
Wallace State recently had a record seven students finish first in the state competition, including three criminal justice students.
Hannah Tidwell, Melissa Kilpatrick and Ruth Barr make up the first Wallace State SkillsUSA winners in the Crime Scene Investigation category, and they’ll join Jesse Phillips (CNC Turning Specialist), Judson Crump (Job Skills Demonstration), Ryan Hayes (Electronics Technology) and Wil Hudson (CNC Milling Specialist) at the 51st annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Ky., from June 22-26, as each competes for placement on the national level.
“This is the best Wallace State has ever performed at the state competition. I’m very proud of all of our winners and competitors. The skill level they have is incredible, and it’s a life-changing event for these students. They’ll be able to look back in five years and see how much they accomplished for themselves and Wallace State,” said Jimmy Hodges, Wallace State’s Dean of Applied Technologies.
Wallace State had 17 students finish third or better in their respective SkillsUSA competitions, including the first-place winners and John Dempsey, second place in diesel technology; Austin Echevarria, second place in technical drafting; Savanna Miller, second place in men’s hair design; Justin Rivers, second place in electronics technology; Clay Speer, second place in precision machining; Jared Chafin, third place in related technical math; Owen Green, third place in diesel technology; Justin Hartley, third place in automotive service; Austin Pace, third place in diesel technology and Jason Sullins, third place in precision machining.
The event was held in Birmingham and at various colleges across the state, including Wallace State, which hosted portions of the welding competition.
Hodges said Wallace State has made it a mission to participate in new SkillsUSA events each year, and the crime scene investigation was the new addition in 2015.
Tidwell, Kilpatrick and Barr, all criminal justice students, made sure Wallace State came out on top in its first attempt.
“We practiced as much as we could beforehand and did what we needed to in the competition,” said Tidwell, a Cleveland native and Wallace State sophomore. “I really enjoy Wallace State’s Criminal Justice Department and have felt all along it’s where I need to be.”
Wallace State Criminal Justice Instructor Thea Hall said her students had to photograph, measure, sketch, collect evidence and process a mock crime scene during the competition.
Kilpatrick, a sophomore, is from Oneonta, while Burr is from Hayden.
A year after finishing third in related technical math, Hudson finished first in CNC Milling for the Wallace State Machine Tool Technology Department. Hudson is an Arab High graduate.
Crump, who is from Eva, excelled in Job Skills Demonstration, which required him to present for five minutes on readings dials calipers.
Hayes, who is from Holly Pond, became the second Electronics Technology student in three years to earn first-place honors.
Phillips earned the top spot in the CNC Turning Specialist portion and is thrilled to among the latest batch of Wallace State SkillsUSA winners.
“It was an exciting and fun competition. It’s fun to test your skills and see where you stand. My instructors prepared me very well. Win or lose, I wanted to try my best. That’s all you can do,” said Phillips, a Cleveland native, who is set to graduate this month. “I loved seeing so many of our students win, especially in our machining group. It says a lot about the college to have winners from different departments. It speaks to the quality of the students here who come not only to get a degree and go about their lives, but to those who also take the time to do things like SkillsUSA in order to better themselves for the future.”
Next month, all seven first-place winners will seek to join Joey Foster of welding (2009) and Matthew O’Neal of machine tool technology (2003) as Wallace State SkillsUSA national champions.
Wallace State’s James Foster and Vincent Ponder each finished third in the nation last year with both earning bronze medals. Foster competed in welding and Ponder in precision machining.
Wallace State’s students will be required to complete written and performance tests at the national tournament.
SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, including health occupations. SkillsUSA serves more than 300,000 students and instructors annually. The organization has 13,000 school chapters in 54 state and territorial associations.
For more information about Wallace State, visit wallacestate.edu.
Hannah Tidwell of Crime Scene Investigation
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Russell Moore
Staff Writer
Wallace State Community College
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