(WACO, Texas) – Students and recent graduates representing Texas State Technical College’s Waco campus received medals in four events at the 2025 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference held June 23-27 in Atlanta, Georgia.
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 contests at the state and national events in which students can compete.
Students qualified for the national conference by placing among the top three in contests at the SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary Leadership and Skills Conference held earlier this year in Corpus Christi.
“Our students continue to set the standard and pave the way for the future of skilled technicians in Texas and demonstrate their ability not just statewide, but nationally as well,” said Abigail Ford, SkillsUSA coordinator for the Waco campus. “This would not be possible without our dedicated advisors that spend many additional hours mentoring our students in their selected degree and career paths.”
Jonathan Gann, of Waco, received a gold medal in the Plumbing contest. The two-day event involved roughing in and topping out a plumbing system. Gann said he worked with soft supply lines for the first time.
“I felt good, but there were a lot of people that did good too,” he said.
Gann said he will hang his medal next to the gold medal he won earlier this year in SkillsUSA Texas’ postsecondary Plumbing contest.
Joshua Stock, of Georgetown, received the bronze medal in the Architectural Drafting contest.
“When they put the state of Texas on the screen, I knew I would get on the podium,” he said.
Stock is not new to SkillsUSA. He participated in automotive contests in high school and switched to drafting once he started attending TSTC.
“It looks good on a resume, and I get to compete in stuff I enjoy doing,” Stock said.
Winning bronze in TeamWorks was the team of Victor Flores, of Belton; Michael Lopez, of Princeton, Texas; Jackson Pace, of Weatherford; and Chad Robertson, of Belton.
Lopez handled masonry work during the two-day contest consisting of building a mini-structure with basic electrical, framing, plumbing and roofing components.
“I enjoyed getting to build with my team,” he said. “They are a bunch of people I didn’t know at first. Now we move like it’s second nature, and the work shows that.”
Zacarias Felipe, of Graham, won the silver medal in the Carpentry contest.
For more information on SkillsUSA, go to skillsusa.org.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.