The 2024 New York State SkillsUSA Leadership and Skills Championships took place at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse from April 24-26. BOCES 2 Career and Technical Education was represented by more than 80 students as competitors, delegates and event workers. Twenty-five BOCES 2 CTE students combined for 11 medals in the championship competitions and one student was voted a 2024-25 state officer.
Three students from BOCES 2 Center placed first in their respective individual competitions: Dental Assisting student Briana Lewis (Brockport) in Dental Assisting; HVAC/Plumbing student Jordan Fleischer (Lake Ontario Baptist Academy) in HVAC and HVAC/Plumbing student Owen Donovan (Brockport) in Plumbing.
Three additional team contests were won by BOCES 2 CTE students. Food Services students Caleb Armour (Spencerport) and Kamlya Rosa-Padilla (Greece) finished first in Community Action Basic. Criminal Justice students Emily Ballard (Hilton), Izabella Allison (Spencerport) and Logan Feszczyszyn (Brockport) earned a first-place finish in Criminal Justice Quiz Bowl. Carpentry students Kyle Battaglia (Spencerport), Joshua Ortiz (Spencerport) and Andrew Shurina (Churchville-Chili) teamed up for a first-place finish in Occupational Health and Safety.
Six BOCES 2 CTE students combined for second-place finishes across three state competitions. Individual second-place awards were won by Medical Laboratory Assisting and Phlebotomy student Selki Wilson (Spencerport) in Medical Terminology and Digital and Visual Communication student Faith Waver (Gates Chili) in Photography. Carpentry students Andrew Burke (Churchville-Chili) and Paul Rose (Brockport); HVAC/Plumbing student Evan Prus (Hilton); and Residential and Commercial Electrical student Ethan Race (Holley) teamed up for a second-place finish in TeamWorks.
Two third-place finishes were won by a combined eight BOCES 2 CTE students. Dental Assisting student Saniyha Harris (Spencerport) won third place in Dental Assisting. Seven Computer Technology students worked together to finish third in Opening and Closing Team: Jacob Chatt (Greece), Aiden Elliott (Kendall), Michai Jones (Wheatland-Chili), Riley Knopp (Holley), Mason Merriam (Holley), TJ Phelan (Gates Chili) and Ashton Streber (Greece).
In addition to the medals, a BOCES 2 CTE student also won a state officer position for next school year. Medical Laboratory Assisting and Phlebotomy student Payal Gajmer (Churchville-Chili) ran for and was elected as a 2024-25 New York State SkillsUSA Officer. She will be an Officer at Large until after training at the national conference.
Leadership activities are also a core function of the event and BOCES 2 CTE had two students participating in leadership roles and activities as elected positions. SkillsUSA New York Area 1 Vice President and Dental Assisting student Kayla Waddell-Martin (Greece) participated in one of her final events as a state leader. Medical Laboratory Assisting and Phlebotomy student Savannah Wehner (Spencerport) was elected the 2024-25 Area 1 Vice President at Regionals in March and attended the state conference for leadership purposes as well.
In addition to the elected positions, seven BOCES 2 CTE students represented the BOCES 2 CTE SkillsUSA chapter as delegates: Baking student Julian Rodriguez (Greece); Dental Assisting student Isabelle Nevares (Greece); Criminal Justice students Cooper Moffatt (Churchville-Chili) and McKenzie Chard (Northstar); Digital and Visual Communication students Carina Gadaleta (Greece) and Erin Newton (Spencerport); and Heavy Equipment Operation and Maintenance student Ryan Williams (Brockport).
BOCES 2 CTE students could also be found throughout the event as skilled workers. Heavy Equipment Operation and Maintenance student Matthew Gramling (Greece) could be found with a camera at the event as the chapter photographer. Criminal Justice students Kayla Wiley (Gates Chili) and Mori Thomas (Churchville-Chili) served as contest helpers. Criminal Justice students Jared Romeis (Churchville-Chili) and Matthew Ryan (Spencerport) were a part of the Security Corps for the event. Dental Assisting student Calli Wamser (Greece) helped in the SkillsUSA store that sold merchandise to visitors.
During the Friday awards ceremony, the BOCES 2 CTE SkillsUSA chapter earned recognition of its own, being named a Gold Chapter of Excellence for the fourth year in a row.
Eleven BOCES 2 CTE students are eligible to participate in the national conference in June, along with BOCES 2 CTE SkillsUSA Lead Advisor Jennifer Probst and additional professional members. Lewis, Fleischer and Donovan punched their tickets to nationals with their first-place finishes, as did the Community Action Basic and OSHA teams. Due to the first-place finisher not being able to attend nationals, Wilson will represent New York in Medical Terminology. Wehner and Gajmer will partake in leadership activities in Atlanta.