TSTC students in West Texas gear up for SkillsUSA competitions

(ABILENE, Texas) – All four of Texas State Technical College’s West Texas locations will be well represented during the 2024 SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary Leadership and Skills Conference in Houston on April 18-20.

With a total of 27 students participating from the Abilene, Breckenridge, Brownwood and Sweetwater locations, TSTC provost Andy Weaver is excited to see more students involved in the SkillsUSA competitions.

“This is the most students we have had to represent West Texas in a number of years,” he said. “I know these students are working hard to prepare for their events. I congratulate each of them for representing TSTC, and especially our West Texas locations.”

SkillsUSA is a professional organization focused on employability, leadership and technical skills that can 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 Animation to Welding Sculpture.

Javien Carbajal, a Welding Technology student in Brownwood, will compete in the Welding event.

“I will have to meet certain measurements with my welding techniques,” he said. “I have been practicing the different styles each day in the lab. I am a competitive person, so this will be a good way to see how far I have come as a welder.”

Antonio Hood, a Computer Networking and Systems Administration student in Brownwood, will be among those in the Technical Computer Applications event.

“I am looking forward to representing TSTC in this competition,” he said. “I have been watching the instructional videos and will keep reviewing the process so I can be prepared for the event.”

Several Paramedic students from TSTC’s Abilene location, including Yvette Escobedo and Mari Vaughn, will compete as teams.

“We feel comfortable working together as a team because we work together in Brady,” Escobedo said. “We have run the different situations in real life, so we should be ready to compete.”

Although they are Wind Energy Technology classmates, Shayne Howard and Aulton Lira will be competing against each other in Electronics Technology. They have been training together for the competition.

“I am excited to be representing TSTC because I love this school,” Howard said. “I hope more of our students compete in SkillsUSA because it will bring out the best in us.”

Lira hopes “that one of us qualifies for nationals.”

Gold medalists are eligible to compete at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference to be held June 24-26 in Atlanta, Georgia.

For more information on SkillsUSA Texas, go to skillsusatx.org.

Summer and fall registration for current TSTC students has begun. For new students, registration begins on April 8. For more information, visit tstc.edu.