Three area high school students from Capital Region BOCES are heading to Atlanta this week to test their workplace skills in the National SkillsUSA Leadership & Skills Conference.
Competing for Capital Region BOCES at the June 23-27 national competition are Class of 2025 graduates Danny Martin from Shenendehowa and Hayden Hyslop from Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk (RCS), as well as rising senior Hunter Goss, from RCS.
Two other students are attending the conference to build their leadership and professional skills— Elena Hymes, a Criminal Justice student from North Colonie, and Malachi Plaza, an Automotive Trades Technology student from Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (BHBL).
The competitors will be among more than 6,500 other state champions competing for national gold, silver and bronze medals in 114 skilled and leadership competitions. Martin is participating in the Basic Healthcare Skills competition where his knowledge of nursing skills and healthcare will be put to the test; while Hyslop is competing in the Culinary Arts competition and Goss is competing in the Related Technical Math competition, where his knowledge of math, as it pertains to manufacturing and machining technology, will be put to the test.
“I am looking forward to going to Atlanta, meeting new people, and competing. I hear we have some free time, so I want to be able to see what I can,” the Manufacturing and Machining Technology program rising senior said.
Hyslop said he has been busy preparing for the competition by making a whole bunch of different recipes and hoping that one of those recipes is what I have to make in Atlanta.
“I am nervous, but I am looking forward to experiencing everything and seeing how I do,” the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Technology graduate said.
Meanwhile, Martin said he is ready to put his competitive nature to use.
“I am a competitive person, and I am looking forward to seeing how I do,” the Two-Year Sequence of Health Careers program graduate said.
Meanwhile, Hymes and Plaza will take part in training sessions and conferences that will build their professional skills and make them ready for their professional futures.
Hymes said she is “super excited.”
“SkillsUSA is a great organization. It makes a whole new base for your life. You can get really lost in school, but you come here and get involved in BOCES, and SkillsUSA gives you a new base to build your life,” she said.