HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Wallace State Community College students set a school record recently by winning 33 gold medals at the state SkillsUSA competition.

Wallace State won 50 medals overall, leading the state in medals won and again earning the Highest Participation Award.

“SkillsUSA gives our students the opportunity to compete in a way that not everybody gets to. The fact that we won more than twice as many medals than any other college there shows the dedication of our faculty and our students to be the best they can be,” said Wallace State’s Dean of Applied Technologies Wes Rakestraw.

Wallace State computer science student Jessica Hollis won a gold in Mobile Robotics Technology after securing a silver medal in computer programming in 2020.

“SkillsUSA has helped me learn a lot of skills while working on a team, going in and programming and being able to change different things about the robot that we need to do in order to accomplish goals,” Hollis said.

All Information Technology-related gold medal winners at the State SkillsUSA contest were awarded a $2,000 Community College Scholarship from the Alabama Community College System to be used at any two-year college in the state.

All Wallace State gold medal winners are eligible to compete at the 2022 National Leadership and SkillsUSA event in June in Atlanta. Sara Eskew and Zach Hudson each won national gold medals in Mobile Robotic Technology last year. Seven Wallace State students have won a national gold medal since 2003.

Medals were awarded at the state SkillsUSA for the following Wallace State students:

• Drone Technology – Simret Putman, Crimson Willoughby

• Mechatronics – Davis Falkner, Alex Munoz

• Diesel Technology (High School Level) – Nate McCutcheon

• Robotics and Automation – Camden Davis, Juddson Raia

• Mobile Robotics Technology – Isaac Daniel, Jessica Hollis

• CNC Turning Specialist – Harrison Jones

• Crime Scene Investigation – Jessica Rosales Aguilar, Bryson Fletcher, Amy Maddox

• Job Skills Demonstration Open – Brylan Rice

• CNC Milling Specialist – Brandon Blackwood

• Automated Manufacturing Technology – Robert Combs

• Urban Search and Rescue – JaQuane Brown, Nolan West

• Cyber Security – William Lesnansky, Alex McIntire

• Automotive Refinishing Technology – Chadley Gunter

• Mechatronics – Luis Franco, Joshua Taite

• Criminal Justice – Caleb Andrew Coste

• Robotics and Automation – Ray Rice, Kevin Spencer

• CNC Turning Specialist – Isaac Mann

• CNC Milling Specialist – Klayton Knop

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