May 9, 2019 – Hartford, WI – Hartford Union High School (HUHS) is pleased to announce the students who have won recognition at the SkillsUSA State Competition in Madison. The club took twenty-five competitors and had 16 of them place in the top three in their competition.
Receiving Bronze:
– Maddy Jacobi in T-Shirt Design
– Matt Mikulec, Cody Werner, Mike Scepanski & Hunter Guetzke in Team Works (Building Construction Team)
Receiving Silver:
– Mike Scepanski in Outdoor Power Equipment Technology
– Nick Carter, Josh Weiss & Ryan Luebke in Automated Manufacturing Team
– Ally Schuenermann & Sam Wannow in Video Production
Receiving Gold:
– Clayton Braun in Welding
– Nick Czarnota in Diesel Technology
– Jack Maliszko in Marine Service Technology
– Francisco Roxas in Technical Drafting
– Tate Stoeckmann in First Aid & CPR
State Officer Election Results:
– Isabel McCauley won a very competitive election to become the 2019-2020 SkillsUSA State President.
“The contest was much harder than I thought it would be. I soaked in as much information as I could but that’s not what helped me the most. It was the people in the club and my advisors that believed in me that help me the most. It gave me confidence and I couldn’t have done it without them there. One of the most nerve racking things is when you on the stage with two other kids hoping that your name is last to be called. The first kid gets called and then you hear the other person’s name. Finally you the announcer says “and your gold medalist from Hartford Union High School, Jack Maliszko,” and you step on the podium and hear your school cheer for you, you can’t help but smile.” Jack Maliszko
“I was thrilled at how successful our club was at State. 16 out of 25 competitors from our club placed in the top three of their competitions and were recognized on the podium in front of nearly 2,000 middle and high school and post-secondary students. In my competition, we did a series of realistic scenarios where we had to perform CPR on an adult, child, or infant and also give First Aid to patients with cuts, fractures, spinal injuries or who had seizures, diabetic emergencies, or other sudden illnesses. I felt confident in my ability to do well, as I know how to do Wilderness First Aid through the Boy Scouts and CPR by taking the Life-guarding course at HUHS. Yet, the constant fun of meeting friends from around the state and excitement of competition made me very anxious to hear about the results at the Closing Ceremony. The winners for my contest weren’t announced until about 20 minutes into the awards ceremony. In the meantime, our club and I were very happy to hear that other competitors like Nick C. and Jack M. were winners because this was their first State contest! It is also very cool that Isabel M. is the new State President! She will do such a great job leading the organization. In the end, we all were ecstatic that our club did so well and that Hartford Union High School was announced to the public as we stepped up to the podium. There were so many great memories made during those two days, and I will forever use my skills that I’ve learned from SkillsUSA in my future!” Tate Stoeckmann
“I am very proud and honored to be representing Hartford as SkillsUSA Wisconsin’s High School President. I had been planning on running for SkillsUSA state office for a long time, so I am very glad that everything worked out! At this year’s conference seven students ran for the high school officer board and five people (including me) ran at large (or for president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and reporter). Before the conference we all submitted an application explaining our qualifications for office and what our top choices for positions on the officer board would be. President was my number one, so I am very glad that I succeeded. At the conference, I went through screening to ensure that I was qualified that consisted of a SkillsUSA knowledge test, leadership activities, and an individual interview. After getting through the screening process, I campaigned to voting delegates (students that other schools sent to vote on the officer team). My campaigning consisted of giving two short speeches about myself and my goals for SkillsUSA Wisconsin, answering a problematic question, and discussing SkillsUSA matters with many other high school students. At the closing ceremonies of the conference we found out if we were elected onto the officer board. In the ceremony the president is the last one inducted, so it was an exciting end to the anticipation. In the end all seven candidates got elected into positions on the officer board and I look forward to working with them all.
This summer I will be attending the National SkillsUSA conference and receiving national leadership training. I am very excited for the opportunities that being state president has opened up to me and the connections that I will make. I hope to follow in the footsteps of Tate Stoeckmann’s (2017- 2018 District 5 Vice President for SkillsUSA) and Marley Kreger (2018- 2019 FBLA State president) in representing Hartford well and making the school proud on the state stage.
Our SkillsUSA chapter as a whole also did very well in competitions at the conference. We sent 25 of our members to the conference and came back with 16 medalist. Five of those medalists were state champions that are advancing to the National Conference. I am very proud of our Hartford SkillsUSA chapter and what we have done this year and I cannot wait to see all we will accomplish next year!” Isabel McCauley
“When I heard the announcer say that I was the winner, it was the most exciting thing that I had ever felt. I still can’t believe that I’m actually going to compete at nationals. Last year I took second place at state, and I only lost because of a few questions on a test. To prepare for that this year, I studied technical drawings to learn more about industry standards, which was the main subject matter on the written test. I also spent all of my free time practicing on SolidWorks, which is the software I use for technical drafting, creating random objects to help polish up my skills before going to the competition.” Francisco Roxas
“Winning first place for welding in the state competition makes me feel really proud. I spent a lot of time practicing and I guess it paid off! It was a great experience in large part made possible by my teachers and SkillsUSA advisors, Mr. McCauley and Mrs. DeBack.” Clayton Braun
