CCCTC Students Recognized for Skills Learned for Competition

LISBON, Ohio – With a high-energy, flashing lights awards ceremony, the Columbiana County Career and Technical Center celebrated the achievement of students participating in its Skills Organizations and Challenge Cup competitions on Friday afternoon.

Assistant Superintendent Jeremy Corbisello points out high school juniors and seniors might lose focus the week before the holiday break, but the CCCTC skills competition gives them something different to challenge them throughout the week.

Students were tested on their knowledge, presented projects and earned points for the skills they have gained so far this year at the CCCTC.

The week ended with a celebration as the winners were announced in competitions such as welding fabrication, soil judging, automotive collision repair, first aid/CPR, cosmetology esthetics, as well as job skills such as career math, speeches and demonstrations.

Classmates screamed and applauded for their friends, and several received high fives on their way to the medal stand on stage.

To make the competition even more entertaining, students in the leadership skills competitions, which can be entered in addition to career-based competition, earn points for their career program team. The team with the most points takes home the Challenge Cup.

This year, it was the interactive multimedia program taking the cup with 64 points, and information technology, led by Kamdyn Stacey, took second. Stacey participated in all seven of the leadership skills events and, by himself, earned 31 points for his team by placing in several of the events he entered.

An East Palestine senior, Stacey said he entered the skills competitions to help him work on his public speaking abilities. He gave a prepared speech and two demonstrations. He designed a billboard on the fly to enter the seventh competition.

“I want to be an inspiration to my class to want to strive to become the best,” Stacey said, “and to go ahead and to overperform. And that it’s OK to have ambition and motivation, because in our society today it’s very frowned upon.”

He said he tried to capitalize on his strengths, the extemporaneous and prepared speeches, where he knew he could do well. He demonstrated how to build a computer and the proper golf swing.

“I tried to do my best on my speeches and tried to overperform on my delivery,” Stacey said.

He plans to attend Youngstown State University next year and double major in financial management and business. He is interested in a future involving investing and real estate.

By the end of the competition, he was wearing several medals for his efforts, including the MVP of the competition.

Many of the students also were wearing long-sleeve CCCTC shirts designed by Leianna Nulf, a Crestview junior whose design was chosen by her peers. Students voted during lunch on three shirt designs, all created by students. Nulf and her interactive multimedia partner, Caleb Hughes of Crestview, also took first place in digital cinema.

Bill Oesch, the instructor of interactive multimedia design, said this was a class project for both level one and level two students, who learn in his class how to graphically design and build logos on Adobe Illustrator.

Oesch said creating designs for businesses is a service offered by his program, which gives the students a chance to learn how to work with a customer, including fine-tuning their design ideas to meet the client’s needs.

Besides giving the students a chance to succeed in the skills event, the students who win first place in the competitions have earned the chance to compete in regionals at the Maplewood Career Center in February. Students winning there can go on to the state competition in the spring. Last year about five CCCTC students in health care and cosmetology advanced to the national Skills USA competitions.

“We think it’s really important,” Assistant Superintendent Corbisello said after the awards ceremony. “It’s just like sports and extra curriculars at the home schools. It’s an opportunity to recognize students for all the hard work that they put in.”

Pictured at top: Winners in the Job Skill Demo Open competition were, from left, Chris Jackson, Beaver Local, second place; Kamdyn Stacey, East Palestine, first place; and Madalyn Black, Crestview, third place.

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