RCC students earn medals from NC SkillsUSA competition; two become finalist in national competition

Students at Robeson Community College can proudly say “We are the champions.”

They are the champions, champions of the North Carolina SkillsUSA competition that was just held in Greensboro in late April. And two of the students that placed first in mechatronics, Dorian Walters and Jeremiah Locklear, will be moving on to the National Competition in Atlanta, Georgia this June.

“We are so proud of our students, who truly are legends in the making,” RCC President Melissa Singler said. “We have always known this and now the world knows, our secret is out.”

“These students have proven that Robeson Community College is truly home of the champions,” stated Singler. “We know our students are skilled and ready for the workforce, and they are leading by example, and our success at SkillsUSA exemplifies this.”

RCC competed in three separate competitions – Mechatronics, Electrical Systems, and Cosmetology.

Mechatronics

RCC had several teams in the mechatronics competition, each placed highly in the competition, taking 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place.

“It was surprising, I felt like we did pretty good, it caught me off guard,” said Dorian Walters, who placed first along with teammate Jeremiah Locklear.

“It was a team effort, knowing we gave 110% and used each other’s skills to our advantage to win first place,” Locklear said.

Locklear and Walters will now prepare for the National SkillsUSA competition held in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Greensboro was a great experience,” Locklear said. “But it will be ten times better in Atlanta… we are trying to get ready for it.”

“This has opened up new doors and it has helped further our experience to show we can exceed in multiple things,” Walters said.

With a second-place finish, Angel Santiago and Luis Solis were “a little heartbroken” but still proud Robeson Community College took all four places.

“I’m proud of our other classmates,” Santiago said. “In the end, it collectively made RCC look good.”

“We had an opportunity to meet new people, others from different programs at RCC and also other schools across the state,” Solis said. “It will look good on our resumes too.”

“Our goal from the beginning was for everyone to come back with a medal,” stated David Jimenez, one of the students representing Robeson Community College in the mechatronics competition that placed third. “The competition was between us.”

“We just recently started preparing for the competition two months ago,” Rylan Oxendine said, who placed third with Jimenez. “So, to be able to keep up and compete with people who have been doing this for two years makes me very proud and happy.”

Placing fourth in the mechatronics category were Jonathan Gabino and Dakota Collins.

“It is a huge honor and privilege to say we did that well, it’s also very humbling because of the amount of talent we were up against,” stated Joseph Nation, an instructor for the mechatronics program. “It is kind of intimidating to walk in and be up against competitors going after the same medal, but we prepared our students to do well… All five teams performed really well, they stayed confident… and focused on the goal.”

“Students put in work before the competition, in practicing, and it paid off for them at SkillsUSA,” said Heath Worriax, who also teaches Mechatronics at RCC. “We have a great potential team that looks awesome for next year.”

Electrical Systems

In the electrical systems category, Robeson Community College was represented in two categories.

Placing 4th in Industrial Motors and Controls was Deremiah Chavis and in 5th place was Megan Locklear. Atzel Salvador placed 6th in the Electrical Construction Wiring II category.

For all three, it was their first time competing state-wide.

“It felt good, I didn’t think I was going to place, but it is good to know that you are fourth in the state in something,” Chavis said. “My parents are very proud, especially my Dad because this is what he does for a living and I’m following in his footsteps.”

“It feels awesome to place 6th out of 30 people in the state,” stated Salvador. “Next year I will definitely be in 1st place, it was an amazing experience and I gained what it is really like to work out in the electric field.”

“Overall, it was a good experience,” stated Locklear. “It has given me the drive to go back next year… I would love to see more students involved campus-wide and competing in different subjects.”

For their instructor, Matthew McKnight, it was a joy to see his students succeed.

“Competition has always been healthy,” said McKnight. “It was good to let students compete against their peers.”

Cosmetology

Jayme Jackson and Kristin Hunt took home medals after winning in the fantasy display competition for cosmetology at the NC SkillsUSA competition in Greensboro.

Several cosmetology students from Robeson Community College attended the SkillsUSA competition, some as models for the students who registered to compete. Students created ‘fantasy displays’ to showcase their talent in hair and makeup artistry.

Jayme Jackson placed 4th with her fantasy display of the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland and Kristin Hunt placed 5th in the competition, with a rendition of Poison Ivy from Batman.

“It was really fun, winning was an added bonus,” said Jackson. “I felt like it was like the senior trip that I missed out on high school, and I got to experience something new and be with my friends… Shyla Godwin was my model and we picked out the character and everything just came together really well… her costume, hair, and make-up all made her a great Queen of Hearts.”

“Poison Ivy is a pretty girl with a dark side, she’s a villain,” said Hunt as she described the character. “I’m just happy with how everything turned out, I did not expect to win, it just happened. It was overwhelming at first, but it kept us on our feet and was just a great learning experience… it was an honor to be there.”

For Daisher Jones, being a model in the competition was also an exhilarating experience. She paired with Hunt, who transformed her into Poison Ivy.

“I had never been to a state conference before or be able to represent a school, so it was all so new to me and I felt very proud to be there,” Jones said. “Seeing it all come together, the crowd – oh my goodness – we knew our look was good when the crowd went crazy…I got to walk on the catwalk and around the audience… people wanted pictures with us… Mrs. Ransom really pushed us and it all panned out pretty well.”

Seeing her students succeed brought tears of joy to Mary Ransom, their instructor for cosmetology.

“I felt like a mother who had just given birth,” said Ransom. “To see these students, perform the way they did, with so much time that they had invested in preparing… seeing those students go from start to finish was just awesome.”

Ransom was moved by the success of her students, but there was also another reason for the pride that Ransom felt in her students.

“We had someone from another school come up to us to say that ‘I just want to share with you, your students are winners even if they don’t get a medal,” Ransom said.

“She told me that there was a student from another school who had her tools stolen… since our showcase was before theirs, our students shared their tools with her,” said Ransom. “She said that RCC students just fell in line and no other school or students had tried to help… it really made me proud… our students didn’t look at it as a competition, but as an opportunity to help another student in need, and I am so grateful to have students with that kind of heart.”

Also thankful is Dr. Melissa Oxendine, an academic dean for the college who spearheaded RCC’s participation in SkillsUSA.

“I am very proud of the hard work of our students and faculty this year in preparation for the NC SkillsUSA Competition. We have worked hard over the past couple of years to promote SkillsUSA on our campus,” said Oxendine. “Last year we had 11 students who competed and our goal for 2023 was to double that number. With the hard work of the faculty, we were able to exceed our goal with 30 students attending. Looking ahead, our target for 2024 is to have more than 50 students participating and three additional programs from the college represented.”

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