Sergio Hernandez (Albert Lea) who competed in extemporaneous speech placed 11th, Brandon Nelson (Albert Lea) who competed in prepared speech placed ninth, Dylan Kuntz (Austin) who competed in Automotive Refinishing Technician placed ninth, and Ivan Okhin (Austin) and Matthew Steiner (Austin) who both competed in web design placed fourth. SkillsUSA advisors Jason Merritt, Larry Peterson, and Brenda Mandt accompanied the students.

Four of the students received Skills Points certificates. Students who score high in their category and also cover specific professional criteria compile points towards these certificates. Kuntz, Hernandez, Okhin, and Steiner earned enough points to receive Skills Points Awards.

SkillsUSA is a leadership organization for students in career and technical programs in high school and college. Students participate in leadership and skills competition at local, state and national levels where they build and reinforce technical skills, self-confidence, work attitudes and communications skills. The contests were held in the following nine career and technical education cluster areas: arts and communication; construction; health services; legal and protective services; hospitality; human services, manufacturing; science, engineering and technology; and transportation.

SkillsUSA, a national organization sponsors the SkillsUSA Championships annually to recognize the achievements of career and technical education students and to encourage them to strive for excellence and pride in their chosen occupations. The Skills USA Championships, at which more than 5,000 students compete in more than 91 occupational and leadership skill areas, is held in conjunction with the Skills USA National leadership and Skills Conference, attended by more than 14,000 people.

Skills USA is a national organization that serves trade, industrial, technical and health occupations students in public high schools, career and technical centers and schools and two-year colleges. Skills USA has more than 300,000 student members annually, organized into more than 16,000 sections and 54 state and territorial associations (including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands).

Riverland Community College, a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, is a regional comprehensive community college inspiring learning for living through a personalized educational environment. Approximately 4,000 students are served, annually, through a wide range of credit-based educational opportunities. An additional 5,600 students are annually served in non-credit courses. Facilities are located in Albert Lea, Austin, and Owatonna, Minn. Riverland may be found on the Internet at www.riverland.edu.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system comprises 32 state universities and community and technical colleges serving the higher education needs of Minnesota. The system serves about 250,000 students per year in credit-based courses and an additional 140,000 students in non-credit courses.

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Riverland Community College is an Equal Opportunity employer and educator. This document can be made available in alternative formats upon request.