County students shine at SkillsUSA Nationals

Students from Fayette County High, Flat Rock Middle, and Sandy Creek High earned top 10 placements at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference.

Sandy Creek had two place in the top 10.

Kaiden Sherrard competed in Job Interview, was selected Top 12, and advanced to the finals where she placed 5th in the nation.

Simon Morano competed in Related Technical Math, placing 9th in the nation out of 31 contestants. Only 4.12 points separated him from 1st place.

Jylan Slaton is the first national competitor from Flat Rock Middle’s 2-year old SkillsUSA chapter. She competed in Prepared Speech for middle school where she placed 4th in the nation. She will be a 9th grader next year at Sandy Creek.

Fayette County High earned two top 10 finishes.

Lauren Stradford earned a top 10 national finish in Facilithon – Leadership in Facility Management. Facilithon evaluates students through multiple components, including a professional interview, a comprehensive knowledge assessment, and role playing scenarios that require competitors to solve real world facilities management challenges.

The FCHS Video News Production Team placed 8th in the nation with an outstanding score of 92.48 percent. The team consisted of seniors Amariah Bowser and Matthew Furtch as anchors, Daniel Terrazas as technical director, and Eloise Meyer as floor manager.

The Video News Production competition challenged students to produce a professional quality live news broadcast while demonstrating excellence in journalism, communication, technical production, teamwork, and problem solving.

“We are incredibly proud of these students and the way they represented Fayette County High School, Georgia SkillsUSA, and our community on the national stage,” said FCHS SkillsUSA Advisor Jamey Trask. “Their dedication, preparation, and teamwork allowed them to compete with the very best students in the nation. Earning two top 10 national finishes at an event of this magnitude is an outstanding accomplishment and a testament to the hard work these students have invested in their careers and technical education.”

The National Leadership and Skills Conference, held in Atlanta, brought together over 19,000 student competitors from across the United States and its territories. Competitors represented all 50 states, as well as U.S. territories including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Navajo Nation. The conference’s opening and closing ceremonies filled State Farm Arena to capacity, showcasing the scale and prestige of the nation’s premier career and technical education event.