Bring on Atlanta!
Three of our Fairfield cosmetology students and one Fairfield technology student are taking on Atlanta as part of the SkillsUSA Nationals, adding their names to an already long list of accomplished Fairfield-based students competing at the national level of their craft.
From cosmetology are graduated Fairfield senior Audra Yoder, soon-to-be senior Elise Schwartz and Wawasee graduated senior Olivia Siri, and graduated Fairfield senior Caleb Borkholder represents the technology grid. All four are in the final phase of the SkillsUSA showcase, to which the four qualified from their respective disciplines at the state competition in Indianapolis in mid-April. Yoder will compete in overall Cosmetology, Siri in Nail Care, Schwartz in Job Demonstration A, and Borkholder in Information Technology Services.
The nationals take place in downtown Atlanta at the National Leadership & Skills Conference from June 24-28, where all four will give it their best shot for a panel of SkillsUSA judges looking to see if their presentations are nationally elite.
“I’m going in a position of gratitude to be involved with such a tremendous occasion, which is a whole new scale, and I really have a desire to learn what it takes to compete at a national level,” Schwartz said. Her job demo entails depicting three massage techniques people can do on the go to target swelling and facial stress. “I don’t have my own agenda, my own plans. I’m there to do job demo and present to the best of my ability. See what happens from there.”
Borkholder noted that advancing through the state level wasn’t as difficult as he originally expected, rather just passing a test of materials he mostly knew from class. It was just making sure all of the proverbial boxes were checked.
“We have an online course, which is what they base their test from, which covers (industrial technology) and fixing and troubleshooting computer problems,” noted Borkholder. “To prepare for that, we do a lot of Gimkits, Kahoots, and just study to know how to do them, and master the computer programs.”
Yoder is looking forward to meeting other cosmetologists from around the country, and while surprised she advanced from state, was immediately looking forward to the next step in her growth in cosmetology.
“At nationals, it’s basically the same as state except we’ll also be coloring our updo mannequin,” Yoder said. “I’ll still do the two haircuts and styles, and I’m planning on doing the same updo that got me to nationals.”
SkillsUSA’s National Leadership & Skills Conference is the largest gathering of America’s future skilled workforce and the ultimate recognition of excellence in career and technical education. More than 16,000 attendees will take part in the conference, which over 6,000 of those are national medalists in their field.