CCPS Students Excel at 2023 SkillsUSA Maryland Annual Fall Leadership Conference

Twenty Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS) Career and Technology Academy (CTA) students demonstrated and honed their leadership skills at this year’s SkillsUSA Maryland Annual Fall Leadership Conference. The conference took place November 2-3, 2023, in Ocean City, Maryland.

“This conference provided valuable opportunities to for our students to expand and grow their leadership skills,” explained CCPS SkillsUSA Lead Advisor and CTA teacher Kimberly Clements. “Our students engaged with other SkillsUSA Maryland students, attended leadership training sessions on teamwork, communication, developing SMART goals, and time management.”

First-year attendees are eligible for the prestigious SkillsUSA Statesman and the second-year attendees who have earned the Statesman Award are eligible for the Advanced Statesman Award. These awards recognize students who have demonstrated their leadership skills and have mastered requirements in leadership training.

CTA Culinary Arts Student Callie Nicholson is a SkillsUSA Maryland state officer who led the “Crew Deck” teaching others about teamwork in the workplace. She has taken the skills learned through the program and applied those skills to teach others throughout the state.

“We are extremely proud to share that all 20 CTA students earned a leadership award at the 2023 Fall SkillsUSA Fall Conference,” shared Clements.

Advanced Statesman Award Recipients

Maggie Green, Culinary Arts

Sam Hall, Interactive Media Production

Nate Hawley, Academy of Health Professions

Amy Ontko, Culinary Arts

Courtney Smith, Culinary Arts

Hank Valentin, Welding

Destiny Wright, Interactive Media Production

Statesman Award Recipients

Alees Cook, Cosmetology

Maliyah Graham, Cisco Networking & Cybersecurity

Caleb Hood, Interactive Media Production

Rylee Horling, Culinary Arts

Sheala Jefferson, Culinary Arts

Charlee Lewis, Cosmetology

Alyssa Lane, Cisco Networking & Cybersecurity

Nathan Nguyen, Curriculum for Agriculture Science Education

Kelly Parker, Interactive Media Production

Jamie Pitcher, Welding

Lillyanna Rosa, Academy of Health Professions

Charles Smith, Interactive Media Production

Katori White, Interactive Media Production

SkillsUSA promotes skilled trades with a mission to empower students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders, and responsible community members. Representing nearly 400,000 career and technical education students and teachers, SkillsUSA chapters thrive in middle schools, high schools, and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide.