Students from TSTC’s Marshall campus bring home SkillsUSA medals

(MARSHALL, Texas) – Two Precision Machining Technology students from Texas State Technical College’s Marshall campus brought home medals from the recent 2023 SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary Leadership and Skills Conference in Houston.

Second-semester students Juan Cerda and Remington Sipes won gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the CNC 2-Axis Turning Programmer competition.

The two were among 14 students from the Marshall campus who medaled at the SkillsUSA state championship, including four students in addition to Cerda who won gold medals. The gold medalists now qualify to represent Texas at the 2023 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference scheduled for June in Atlanta, Georgia.

Cerda said he had worked hard to prepare for the competition.

“I came into class early every day, and I just worked on the controllers, looked at prints, and read some books,” he said. “I put a lot into it.”

Cerda said his favorite part of competing is the trips, but this competition had given him a new goal to strive for.

“I was really happy because I get to go on the trip, “ he said. “Now I have an even better goal. I want to get up on the national stage. It gives me a reason to go the extra mile.”

Sipes said the competition gave him a chance not only to compete, but also to build relationships.

“SkillsUSA was a lot of fun,” he said. “I got to make relationships with the people I was around and I roomed with. They helped me out when it was time to study and get ready for the competition. It was just a lot of fun.”

Sipes said once he heard he had placed, he was excited.

“I was happy,” he said. “I was excited to come home and show all of my folks. It was nice to see myself up there.”

Daniel Nixon, lead Precision Machining Technology instructor for TSTC’s Marshall campus, said he was proud of his two students.

“I was super excited,” he said. “That’s a big accomplishment.”

The other medal-winning students from the Marshall campus include:

• Action Skills: Tristan Matthew, gold.
• Additive Manufacturing: Team B: James Arnold and Hunter Ludgate, silver.
• Cyber Security: Team B: Liam Rist and Delroy Willis, silver; Team A: Gabriel Hart and Hunter Smith, bronze.
• Industrial Motor Control: Tristan Matthew, gold.
• Information Technology Services: Austin Stowe, gold.
• Internet of Things and Smart Home: Austin Prunty, gold.
• Internetworking: Sergio Bazaldua, silver.
• Mechatronics: Team A: Brooke Linthicum and Matt Linthicum, gold.
• Prepared Speech: Marius Hudson, bronze.
• Telecommunications Cabling: Isaac Hight, silver.
• Welding: Zach Beck, bronze.

SkillsUSA is a professional organization focused on employability, leadership and technical skills that help college students pursue successful careers and be part of a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA has more than 100 categories in which students can compete, from 3D Visualization and Automation to Welding Sculpture.

For more information on SkillsUSA, go to skillsusa.org.

For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.