by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC
The Culinary Arts Program at Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Dr. Thomas R. Burke Technical Education Center has been on fire this year, and not just in the kitchen.
So when KCKCC attended the Skills USA State competition in April, the results were no different leading the KCKCC contingency on the road to nationals.
“Our students put in three to six hours every day to practice for all of these competitions. We knew that the students were ready for the competitions and would be a contender for a medal, hopefully a gold,” said Chef Cheryl Runnebaum, assistant professor of culinary arts at KCKCC-TEC. “Sometimes, we still have to ‘pinch ourselves’ to insure we are not dreaming. This type of success does not happen by luck; but by shear practice, dedication, determination and passion for the field.”
In addition to the Gold Medal KCKCC received at the ACF High School Team competition at Johnson County Community College in February, student Will Bowles received a Gold Medal at the Regional NAACP High School Culinary Arts Competition. He is traveling to the national competition in Baltimore, Md., later this summer – a first for KCKCC.
To close the year, KCKCC culinary arts brought home five gold medals from the Kansas SkillsUSA competition, sweeping all but one of the culinary arts categories. In total, KCKCC is sending 15 students to the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference June 19 to 23 in Louisville, Ky.
SkillsUSA is a career and technical student organization in the United States geared toward those enrolled in programs for skilled, technical and service occupations. The organization serves more than 300,000 students and instructors each year at the high school and post-secondary level. It also gives industry leaders an opportunity to mentor and recruit students into positions that are high in demand.
Students who wish to compete in SkillsUSA can do so at the local, state and national level. Categories range from culinary, building maintenance and automotive service technology to basic health care skills, collision repair technology, entrepreneurship and job skill demonstration. The idea is to give students the opportunity to compete in real world, hands-on situations. First place winners at the state level move onto the national competition.
“SkillsUSA is an outstanding organization that focuses on making leaders in the various industries/trades and prepare students/members for the real world,” Runnebaum said. “These competitions are just one aspect of SkillsUSA. They host numerous conferences and workshops at the local, state and national level throughout the year. These conferences focuses on the different pillars of SkillsUSA with the ultimate goal of preparing students for the workforce.”
State SkillsUSA Results
Gold (National Qualifier)
• Nancy Mascote – Commercial Baking (HS)
• Stephen Craft – Commercial Baking (PS)
• Megan Sixta – Cosmetology (PS)
• Daniel Tapia-Silva – Culinary Arts (PS)
• Armando Miranda – Culinary Arts (HS)
• Cassandra Puletapuai – Extemporaneous Speaking (PS)
• Christopher Rasa – Major Appliance (HS)
• Raymond Forbes – Major Appliance (PS)
• Melanie Saunders – Nail Care (HS)
• Madison Martinez – Nail Care (HS) (Model)
• Alejandra Lee – Nail Care (HS)
• Becky Pulliam – Nail Care (PS) (Model)
• Ben Smith – Plumbing (PS)
• Christina Balora – Restaurant Service (PS)
• Jasmine Hargrove – Job Skill Demo A (PCC-PS)***
Silver
• Tara Mendenhall – Commercial Baking (HS)
• Fabiola Aguilar – Cosmetology (HS)
• Megan Hadley – First Aid/CPR (PCC-HS)
• Abigail Hopkins – Health Knowledge Bowl (PCC-HS)
• Britten Hout – Health Knowledge Bowl (PCC-HS)
• Savannah Lake – Health Knowledge Bowl (PCC-HS)
• Taylor Schmitt – Health Knowledge Bowl (PCC-HS)
• Joseph Deblois – Major Appliance (PCC-HS)
• Noah Deherrera – Major Appliance (PCC-PS)
• Precious Edgar – Nail Care (PS)
• Tia Gladney – Nail Care (PS) (Model)
• Adelaide Clendinen – Restaurant Services (PS)
• Kayla Eagles – Welding Fabrication (PS)
• Colton Hagge – Welding Fabrication (PS)
• Blaine Hedlund – Welding Fabrication (PS)
Bronze
• Kayden McCrary – Commercial Baking (HS)
• Narda Cabral-Beltran – Cosmetology (PS)
• Dustin Scott – Collision Repair Technology (PS)
• Ariana Sanchez-Ruiz – Criminal Justice (PS)
• William La Pee – Job Skill Demo A (PCC-HS)
• Mitchell White – Major Appliance (PS)
• Diana Valenzuela-Silva – Nail Care (PS)
• Evelin Ortiz – Nail Care (PS) Model)
• Nicholas Minarsky – Restaurant Services (PCC-HS)
** (HS) – High School
** (PS) – Post-Secondary
*** Silver medalist, but is going to nationals because the Gold Medal winner declined the invitation.
For more information on SkillsUSA, contact Jake Carmack at [email protected] or call 913-288-7858.