(BRECKENRIDGE, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Breckenridge campus will be well represented at this spring’s 2026 SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary Leadership and Skills Conference.
Seven welding program students, including two dual-credit students, have entered the state SkillsUSA event, scheduled for April 8-11 in Corpus Christi.
Two three-person teams will compete in the Welding Fabrication event. Justin Andrews, Mason Bounds and Eli Chisholm make up one team, while the second team consists of Jonathan Diaz, Maria Duran and Alejandro Franco Jr.
According to the SkillsUSA website, the welding fabrication event requires a team of three students to build a project from provided materials based on specific prints. Students must also demonstrate proficiency using common workshop tools.
For Chisholm and Franco, the SkillsUSA competition is not a new experience. They both represented TSTC in 2025 as Breckenridge High School dual-credit students.
“It is good to be going back to SkillsUSA,” Franco said. “I am going to treat it like another day of welding. I want to try and win for my team.”
Chisholm said this time he will be ready to compete.
“Last year was nerve-wracking for me. I was doing it as a trial run,” he said. “This time around I am ready for the competition.”
Both students have shared their 2025 experiences with their teammates, discussing what to expect in Corpus Christi. Their teammates have set personal goals in addition to winning medals for themselves.
“I want to be able to test what I can do in a competitive environment,” Duran said. “I want to get the job done and get it right.”
Andrews has a similar goal.
“I wanted to be able to test myself on the knowledge I have learned in the lab,” he said.
Bounds and Diaz, both Breckenridge High School dual-credit students, are excited to be competing at the collegiate level.
“I know this could lead to more job opportunities for me,” Bounds said. “I want to be able to get my name out there.”
Diaz said the challenge of the competition enticed him to enter.
“I wanted to try something harder and different,” he said.
Kolby Worthy will represent TSTC in the individual Welding competition. In this event, competitors receive drawings and a set of welding procedure specifications that conform to the latest edition of the American Welding Society standards. At a series of stations, competitors are tested on various aspects of welding.
“My goal is to get as far as I can in the SkillsUSA competition,” Worthy said. “I have been preparing each day because I know it will be a challenge.”
Chisolm offered all of his classmates a piece of advice during one of the first meetings together.
“I told them to bring their tools,” he said. “You only get so much, so bring everything you have for the competition.”
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 specific contests at the state and national events in which students can compete, from 3D Visualization and Animation to Welding Sculpture.
For more information about TSTC, visit TSTC.edu.