23 A.W. Beattie students qualify for virtual 2021 SkillsUSA state competition

A.W. Beattie Career Center will have 23 students compete virtually in SkillsUSA Pennsylvania, which is part of a national student organization that develops leadership skills to complement what students learn in career and technical education programs. 

“Instead of playing soccer or football, these are our competitions,” A.W. Beattie SkillsUSA advisor Mrs. Heather Brown said. “We are competing to be the best in advertising design, carpentry, medicine, cosmetology, emergency response and so many other categories. Plus, students are showing pride in what they are learning.”

Students qualified for the state competition in one of two ways – by winning a district level virtual competition or qualifying in school. Students from nine local career and technical education schools entered the district-level event. 

State-level competitions will be held virtually from March 29 through April 9. Students who are highlighted below qualified to compete in states.

Advertising Design
1^st Place – Kathryn Smagala, Deer Lakes
2^nd Place – Marisa White, North Hills

Automotive Service Technology
4^th Place - Titus LaMay, North Allegheny – Home Schooled

Basic Health Care
2^nd Place – Brianna Vattimo-Williamson, Pine-Richland

Criminal Justice
Straight to States – Makenna Tuman, North Allegheny

Early Childhood Education
2^nd Place – Hailey Majetic, Hampton Township

Electrical Construction Wiring
3^rd Place – John Rizzo, Hampton Township

Esthetics
1^st Place – Olivia Soost, Northgate

Extemporaneous Speaking
Cadence Howell – Deer Lakes (2020 district winner, automatically qualified for 2021 states)

Fire Fighting
2^nd Place - Tatiana Guenther, North Allegheny

First Aid/CPR
1^st Place – Mallorie Kaiser, Home-Schooled

Job Skill Demo - A
2^nd Place – Matthew Barie, Deer Lakes

Job Skill Demo - Open
Sean Boaks – Avonworth (2020 district winner, automatically qualified for 2021 states)

MLR (Automotive Maintenance & Light Repair)
2^nd Place - Bill Bouch, Hampton Township

Nurse Assisting
1^st Place – Haley Allen, Deer Lakes

Pin Design
1^st Place – B. Deah, Hampton Township

Plumbing
Straight to States – Mark Gibson, Hampton Township

Prepared Speech
Straight to States – Maggie Adkins, North Hills

T-Shirt Design
2^nd Place – Brandon Bedillion, Deer Lakes

The following students will also compete virtually at states in team competitions:

Career Pathways Showcase: Arts & Communication
Dom Gralia, North Allegheny
Alexis Robinson, North Allegheny
Dina Karkaria, North Allegheny

Chapter Display
Haley Studeny, Deer Lakes
Ryan Geeting, Northgate
Jeff Tourney, Pine-Richland

Promotional Bulletin Board
Mia Recker, Northgate
Torrie Seth, Northgate
Ashton Monroe, Fox Chapel Area

Digital Cinema Productions
Andy Crow, Northgate
Brendan Smith, Northgate

TV/Video Production
Adam Barrett, Northgate
Brandon Bedillion, Deer Lakes