Wallace State’s Sara Eskew, Zach Hudson win SkillsUSA National gold medals in Mobile Robotic Technology; CSI team wins silver

HANCEVILLE, ALA. – Wallace State Community College students Sara Eskew and Zach Hudson each earned gold medals recently in the 2021 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference competition.

Eskew and Hudson, both recent graduates, won gold in the Mobile Robotic Technology category, joining elite Wallace State company. Seven Wallace State students have won a national gold medal since 2003.

“Winning gold is a huge achievement, especially with me being 50 years old and challenging myself to learn new things,” said Eskew, of Hanceville. “SkillsUSA is like nothing I had ever done before. I’ve learned so much about engineering and programming and much more about myself and my capabilities. There were a lot of long hours involved, but I enjoyed every minute.”

Eskew, a Computer Science graduate, has accepted an internship position at Mobex Global in Hartselle where she’ll work to support and assist the IT team in maintaining hardware and software, troubleshooting issues and programming, as well as providing technical support.

Hudson, 23, graduated with a general studies degree in May and has plans to transfer to Auburn University or UAH to major in mechanical engineering.

Hudson became interested in the SkillsUSA competition by accident. He stopped by (Computer Science instructor) Terry Ayers’ office one day, seeking assistance with a drone. Fellow classmates were working on robots and Hudson was hooked.

“Our competition was challenging and involved several months of dedication, frustration and patience. The first robot we built looked nothing like the one we competed with. I didn’t know how to program anything before SkillsUSA, but I loved the hands-on aspect and the problem solving,” said Hudson, of Hanceville. “Mr. Ayers has taught me a lot. It’s a great feeling to win gold, especially considering the hard work we put in.”

All teams in the Mobile Robotic Technology category had to put together an engineering notebook and explain the design, programming and functionality of a robot in addition to earning points for programming and driving skills. All contests were conducted virtually for the first time, both nationally and state-wide.

Wallace State also produced national silver medal winners from the Crime Scene Investigation team of Leah Tarvin, Candance Browning and Callie Flaugh – marking the second straight national silver for Wallace State in that category.

In 2019, Wallace State had three students (Jacob Humphrey in welding and Chase Blakey and Benjamin Brownlee in Mobile Robotic Technology) earn a gold medal for the college.

The 2020 competition was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eskew and Hudson increased the gold medal count this year.

During the state competition this year, Wallace State had 44 students earn a medal, including 26 who won first-place golds. The college led the state in medals earned, two years after racking up 71 overall.

For a complete list of national winners, visit https://skillsusa-register.org/rpts/EventMedalists.aspx

For more information about Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu

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Russell Moore

Wallace State Community College

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