Community Corner

OCVTS Students Bring Home Medals From National Competition

Brick resident Bryce Tocci brought home a gold medal in marine trades technology.

Twenty five Ocean County Vocational Technical School (OCVTS) students and their advisors, recently traveled to Kansas City, Missouri to compete  in the 49th Annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference - and one of those students, a Brick resident, brought home a gold medal. 

These students had qualified to attend the conference by earning First Place gold medals in their career area competitions at the 2013 SkillsUSA State Competitions, which took place in Somerset, New Jersey, in May. 

SkillsUSA is a national organization which provides quality educational experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development.

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Brick resident Bryce Tocci, a Marine Trades student, brought home a Gold Medal in Marine Trades Technology; Julianne Abrams, a Design and Visual Communications student from Lakewood earned a Silver Medal in Screen Printing Technology; and Terence Berkeley, a Law and Public Safety from Point Pleasant student earned a Bronze Medal in Criminal Justice. 

In addition to medal winners, seven additional students ranked in the top ten in the nation in their perspective competition areas.

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OCVTS students who traveled to Kansas City include: (students listed with hometown and subject area) Design and Visual Communications students Julianne Abrams, Lakewood and Deanna Choflet, Toms River; Ashley Emmons, Brick (9th Place Photography); Jessica McGinnis, Manahawkin and Amber Golden, Beachwood; Law and Public Safety students Terence Berkeley, Point Pleasant; Shane Reuhle, Little Egg Harbor and Vincent Zenna, Toms River (4th Place, Job Skills Demo); Homeland Security students Dimitrios Karavas, Toms River; Nicholas Ruvo, Cream Ridge; and Christopher Lembo, Lanoka Harbor (7th Place, Criminal Justice); Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC-R) students Antonio Cantelme, Toms River and Jake Kovar, Toms River; Introduction to Culinary Arts student Christopher Castellano, Brick (6th Place, Action Skills); Small Engine Technology student Anthony Hartman, Brick; Plumbing student Daniel DeSousa, Forked River (5th Place, Plumbing); Architectural Design/Drafting student Brandt Dillon, Beachwood (6th Place Architectural Drafting); Cosmetology students Cady Dimitratos, Toms River and Angelica Papa, Toms River (7th Place, Customer Service); MATES student Veronica Pidduck, Point Pleasant (9th Place, Related Technical Math); Culinary Arts student Jessica Simon, Toms River; Aviation Aerospace Technology student Joseph Suliga, Toms River; Marine Trades Bryce Tocci, Brick; Electrical Trades/Integrated Cabling student Matthew Webster, Toms River (7th Place Telecommunications Cabling); and Collision Repair student Jacob West, Toms River.

According to the SkillsUSA website, “Nearly 6,000 outstanding career and technical education students - all state contest winners - competed hands-on in 94 different trade, technical and leadership fields. Students work against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations like electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts. Contests are run with the help of industry, trade associations, and labor organizations, and test competencies are set by industry.”

In addition to competition, there were workshops, seminars, industry trade shows and opportunities for students to take in the local sights.



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