Nine Bryant High School students participated in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, Georgia June 24th-28th with Asher Bird and Sam Morgan placing first in Audio/Radio Production.
Students who placed first in the state competition in April represented Arkansas in various Arts, A/V Technology and Communications competitions. Representing the TV Production program in Video News was Jerrod Barber, Taylor Dischinger, Chelsea Jensen and Katherine Wertenberger. From the Graphic Design program’s first qualifying national team, Kaylee Anderson competed in T-Shirt Design, Molly Kitchens participated in Pin Design, Jennifer Mendoza went as an observer.
The Gold medal in Audio/Radio Production for Bird and Morgan is the first for any school from Arkansas in that category, a competition that began in 2005. Last year, Bird and Morgan received silver, the first medal for the state of Arkansas since 2013. The two worked over a three-day span to complete a three and half minute audio news report plus an online test prior to the event and a written test while in Atlanta.
“The first gold medal for the state of Arkansas and our Bryant students were the ones who made that happen is a moment I will never forget,” SkillsUSA adviser Michael Westbrook said.
SkillsUSA is an organization created to empower students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders and responsible community members. The National Leadership and Skills Conference provides an opportunity for students to connect with career-minded students and explore career opportunities across the nation in growing skilled demand markets.
“My students left feeling very inspired,” SkillsUSA adviser Lindsay Fell said. “I think the scope of the competition and the opportunities available at their fingertips at this event really resonated once they saw it in action at nationals.”
Fell is the Graphic Design teacher and Westbrook is the A/V Teacher at Bryant.
“Our students work all year long for this moment to compete at the highest level,” Westbrook said. “I’m proud they stayed the course and continued to be focused on being good teammates and better students of their craft.”
SkillsUSA students will begin their work for the 2024-25 competition year in August and are looking forward to returning to nationals again in 2025.
