Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) students had an outstanding performance at the 2019 SkillsUSA Georgia State Leadership and Skills Conference, March 21-23, in Atlanta. GNTC competed in 15 categories and took home 13 medals; five gold, six silver and two bronze.

Highlights from SkillsUSA Georgia include winning the gold and silver medal in Practical Nursing, GNTC’s 2019 Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) winner receiving the gold medal in Automotive Service Technology, the TeamWorks team winning the gold medal for the fourth consecutive year and more.

“Our students worked very hard to showcase their talents in the competitions at SkillsUSA Georgia,” said Missy Mclain, SkillsUSA advisor for GNTC.  “We are so very proud of the success of our students and how well they represented GNTC.”

Listed below are gold, silver and bronze medalists including the student’s name, competition and county of residence. Team competitions are listed with the competition name first:

Gold Medal

Cole Allen, Internet of Things and Smart Home, Chattooga County.

Norberto Castaneda, Industrial Motor Controls, Floyd County.

Kimberlee Hall, Practical Nursing, Gordon County.

Brandon Neighbors, Automotive Service Technology, Catoosa County.

TeamWorks (team competition): Ryan Banks, Whitfield County; Jesse Flanagan, Polk County; Gabriel Lopez, Bartow County; and Joel Paez, Whitfield County.

Silver Medal

Josh Barlow, Medical Terminology, Floyd County.

Autumn Donaldson, Medical Assisting, Whitfield County.

Julianna Matthews, Extemporaneous Speaking, Lee County.

Chris Roberson, HVACR, Polk County.

Brittany Square, Practical Nursing, Henry County.

Welding Fabrication (team competition): Dakota Green, Gordon County; Timothy Myers, Catoosa County; and Luke Shehee, Catoosa County.

Bronze Medal

Ethan Mitchell, Electrical Construction Wiring, Gordon County

Colby Wyatt, CNC Technology, Chattooga County.

The award ceremony was led by Julianna Matthews, this year’s president of SkillsUSA Georgia. Matthews is a Construction Management major at GNTC and earned a silver medal in the Extemporaneous Speaking competition.

“I want to thank my advisors and other individuals that believed in me,” said Matthews. “I would not have the opportunity to see myself as I do now if it wasn’t for them and SkillsUSA.”

During the opening ceremony for SkillsUSA Georgia, a special recognition was held for GNTC alumnus Ryan Fincher, the 2019 SkillsUSA World Team Welder. Fincher was selected to represent the nation at the WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Russia. The best welders from around the world will take part in the elite international competition.

GNTC was recognized as a Level 1 Quality Chapter and also received the Gold Chapter of Distinction during the 2019 SkillsUSA Georgia opening ceremony.

Gold medalists will advance to the SkillsUSA national competition in Louisville, Ky. The national competition will be held the week of June 24.