(WACO, Texas) – Students from Texas State Technical College’s Waco campus garnered nine gold medals, nine silver medals and three bronze medals after competing earlier this month at the 2026 SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary Leadership and Skills Conference in Corpus Christi.
“I am so proud of all the students who competed and represented TSTC,” said Abigail Ford, TSTC’s Skills USA coordinator for the Waco campus. “Our students showed off their skill sets and it shows by all the medals we brought back to Waco.”
Students placing first in their state contests are eligible to compete at the 2026 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference set for June 1-5 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Reuben Babcock, of Sulphur Springs, is in his fifth semester in the Diesel Equipment program. He placed first in the Diesel Equipment Technology contest. This marked a return to Corpus Christi for Babcock, who received the bronze medal in last year’s competition.
Babcock said he found this year’s contest a little easier because he knew more from his classes and his internship at United Rentals in Bellmead. He also did some extra training sessions.
“It was a surprise and shock,” he said upon hearing his name announced as the top contestant. “When I walked on stage, I thought it was a mistake.”
Jose Maldonado, of Waco, is studying Cybersecurity and took first place in the Information Technology Services contest. He received some training help from Javier Zuniga, a Cybersecurity student who won the gold medal at last year’s state contest and competed at the national conference.
“It was a little nerve-wracking but it was an honor to meet everyone in the competition,” Maldonado said.
Miguel Martinez, of Houston, is a Building Construction student who placed first in the Carpentry contest. He learned about SkillsUSA by seeing the program’s past medalist banners.
Martinez said his mindset going into the contest, which is not going to change once he arrives in Atlanta, was to do the best he could.
“I don’t want to make mistakes and don’t want to get flustered and don’t worry about what everyone is doing,” he said.
Martinez said some of his preparation for the national contest is to start using a framing square more.
Luke Latham, of College Station, is in his fifth semester in the Building Construction program and served as the team lead and carpenter for the group that competed in the TeamWorks contest, which consists of a two-day building event combining carpentry, electrical, masonry and plumbing. Joining Latham on the team were Oscar Flores, Mason Szabo and Jonathan Wendell.
“Our goal was to win a medal,” Latham said. “We had the pace set to what we needed to do.”
The group, along with Martinez, will continue their Friday practices at the Construction Technologies Center up until the national conference.
Other gold medalists were:
– Additive Manufacturing: Finnean Downey and Andrew Walters
– CNC 3-Axis Milling Programmer: Colton Lopez
– Internet of Things/Smart Home: Sonny Bever
– Telecommunications Cabling: James Chung
– Welding: Montana Caldwell
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 on SkillsUSA Texas, go to skillsusatx.org.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.