Oakdale Patch Whiz Kids: Tartan High School SkillsUSA Team

Oakdale Patch Whiz Kids of the Week: The SkillsUSA Team

Accomplishment: The team brought back 22 medals and five national qualifiers from the state meet in late March.

Key to Awesomeness: In its first year sending a group to state competition, Tartan’s SkillsUSA team has set the bar high for future teams, said advisor Jenny Murphy. While many students don’t begin career exploration until after they graduate high school or start college, through SkillsUSA, these students are already learning about careers like nursing, auto mechanics, law enforcement and technical math.

And if their results from the state competition held in Bloomington in late March are any indication, they’re doing a good job at it. Collectively, the team of 11 brought home 22 medals, and five of the students will be going to the national competition in Kansas City, MO, June 20-25. In addition to competing in their individual technical areas, the students competed in resume writing and job interviewing. Following is the list of medal winners (first-place finishers qualified for nationals): Nicole Horwath, second place in customer service, third place in Tech Prep display (a contest where students create displays on a technical area); Linda Moua, first place in law enforcement, second place in job demonstration, third place in opening and closing ceremonies (a competition that tests presentation skills), honorable mention for job interview; Ashley Bielke, third place in opening and closing ceremonies, second place in chapter display, third place in job skill demonstration; Sarah Kassube, first place in job demonstration, second place in chapter display, third place in opening and closing ceremonies; Jeremy  Schirmer , first place in auto refinishing, second place in collision repair, third place in Tech Prep demo, honorable mention for job interview; Ayanlie Salad, third place in opening and closing ceremonies, third place in Tech Prep; Taylor Hess, third placed in technical math; Taylor Jabs, third place in opening and closing ceremonies, second place in dexterity; Amanda Haas, third place in opening and closing ceremonies; and Gayla Meija, first place in job demonstration open, third place in opening and closing ceremonies.

Each week, Oakdale Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Oakdale Patch Whiz Kid.  Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to patty.busse@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information: nominator's name, nominator's e-mail, Whiz Kid's name, Whiz Kid's age, Whiz Kid's school, Whiz Kid's accomplishment, Whiz Kid's key to awesomeness (what made him/her successful?)

If your nominee is selected, we'll contact you and assign a photographer to take a photo. For questions, e-mail patty.busse@patch.com.