Over 50 DCMO BOCES students from both Robert W. Harrold and Alan D. Pole Campuses arrived in Syracuse Wednesday for the NYS SkillsUSA Leadership and Skills Championships, held at the New York State Fairgrounds. They and their advisors joined over 5,000 student competitors from across the state for two days of skills evaluation, presentations, and leadership activities. The event is supported by hundreds of industry and education partners from across the state, who served as industry advisory members, contest chairs and judges for the skills contests.
Competitions were held in over 80 trade areas, from Automotive Technology to Welding. Students spent Thursday morning demonstrating their skills and abilities in challenging competitions, spread across four large buildings on the fairgrounds (and outside, in the case of Heavy Equipment Operation). All the competitors were members of a SkillsUSA Chapter at their school, and they were accompanied to Syracuse by their advisors. This statewide competition is the last step in months of preparation, practice and regional competitions before the SkillsUSA National Competition, to be held June 23-28, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. Top finishers in each category at the state competition will be eligible to compete at the Nationals.
The Harrold Campus SkillsUSA Chapter was named a Chapter of Distinction. Accepting the award on behalf of the chapter was Baylee Lowe, a student in the Certified Nurse Practitioner program from Sidney CSD. Additionally, retired DCMO BOCES teacher Ellen Coughlin was honored at the awards ceremony. Coughlin, who lives in Sherburne, is stepping down from her role as New York State Leadership & Skills Conference Coordinator after 17 years in that role and nearly 40 years’ involvement with SkillsUSA.
While no students from DCMO BOCES earned medals at this year’s competition, Pierce Haney, a Culinary Arts student from Unatego CSD, will be attending the national conference and competition in June. Pierce was elected as NYS Area II Vice President and will join the rest of the state officers as a delegate in Atlanta this June. Jeanni Romanowski and Nanette LaTourette, Harrold Campus Chapter Advisors, will accompany him to Atlanta.
SkillsUSA is a national workforce development organization for students, operating in thousands of chapters in schools across the country. Founded in 1965 to help address the ongoing skills gap, SkillsUSA seeks to empower students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders and responsible community members. DCMO BOCES has chapters at both campuses, supported by advisors Jeanni Romanowski, Michelle Schwartz, Heidi Ruff, Nanette LaTourette and Jamie Milk.