SkillsUSA Nationals Headlines NW Georgia’s Best

Seventeen Georgia Northwestern Technical College students will put their skills to the test against the best in the nation this week. GNTC’s SkillsUSA Team is competing in the National SkillsUSA competition held during the National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Kentucky through Friday. More than 16,000 students, instructors, and business recruiters and partners are in attendance this week.

To qualify for the national team, GNTC competitors grabbed gold in 10 total categories on the state level earlier this year, besting last year’s mark of eight total golds for the college. With some of the categories being team competitions, GNTC saw 17 students qualify for the chance to be the best in the nation at the state competition in Atlanta, Georgia.

GNTC Welding student Jacob Hargrove, center, stretches out his arms in victory after being named the gold medal winner in the SkillsUSA Georgia Welding competition this past spring. The Catoosa County, Georgia resident is one of 17 GNTC students who have qualified to compete against the best in the country at their professions at the National SkillsUSA Competition in Louisville, Kentucky this week.

The Bobcats SkillsUSA team brought home 10 state gold medals in these categories: Brandy LeVan (Catoosa County, GA), Prepared Speech; Chris Roberson (Floyd County, GA), Sheet Metal; Jacob Hargrove (Catoosa County, GA), Welding; Tristin Bethune (Walker County, GA), Automotive Service Technology; Taylor Eagle (Chattooga County, GA), Residential Systems Installation and Maintenance; Brandon Battles (Chattooga County, GA), Industrial Motor Controls; Patricia Escutia (Polk County, GA), Medical Assisting; Stephen Bottoms (Floyd County, GA), Nathan Rittweger (Bartow County, GA), and Tucker Tumlin (Floyd County, GA), Welding Fabrication Team; Marvin Pointer (Polk County, GA), Noah Ranels (Gordon County, GA), Logan Thomas (Gordon County, GA), and George Soto (Whitfield County, GA), TeamWorks; and Beck Maxwell (Bartow County, GA), Jake Woodall (Floyd County, GA), and Derek Walck (Floyd County, GA), Engineering Technology/Design.

For more information on Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s SkillsUSA program, you can call 866-983-4682. For information online, visit the college at GNTC.edu, as well as on GNTC’s Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, WordPress, and YouTube channels. GNTC is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and an equal opportunity institute.

GNTC offers more than 200 other programs online and on-campus. Campuses are located in Ringgold (Catoosa County Campus), Rome (Floyd County Campus), Calhoun (Gordon County Campus), Rockmart (Polk County Campus), Rock Spring (Walker County Campus), and Dalton (Whitfield Murray Campus).

Georgia Northwestern Technical College provides quality workforce education to the citizens of Northwest Georgia. Students have the opportunity to earn an associate degree, diploma, or a certificate in business, health, industrial, or public service career paths. This past year, 16,402 people benefited from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs. With an annual credit enrollment of 7,750 students, GNTC is the largest college in Northwest Georgia. GNTC has an additional enrollment of 8,652 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training, and Georgia Quick Start. GNTC is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia and an Equal Opportunity Institution.

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Don Foley Assistant Director, Marketing and PR