A group of 27 North Point High School students will represent Charles County Public Schools at the National Leadership and Skills Competition set for June 19-24 in Louisville, Ky., after earning first-place gold medal honors at the state event.

The state event was April 28-29 and North Point students earned the top place among 12 competitions. The first-place winners are

• Michelle Young, senior, Advertising Design;
• Mercedee Cooper, junior, and seniors Brandon Powell and Stephen Williams, Career Pathways – Manufacturing;
• Carla Arquero, Maxwell Palmer and Esha Satam, seniors, Career Pathways – Science, Math and Technology;
• Jakob Gammons, senior, Criminal Justice;
• Desiree Miller, junior, Customer Service;
• Maria Miller, senior, Early Childhood Education;
• Nisha Lathrop, junior, Extemporaneous Speaking;
• Amita McDonald, Cherry Mae Alvarez and Katarina Buckley, seniors, and sophomore Mya Rivenburg, Health Knowledge Bowl;
• Carl Wachowski, sophomore, Medical Terminology;
• Amber Wachowski, freshman, Adam Cullen, Amara Gammon and Andrew Fan, sophomores, and seniors Nathan Hubbell and Skye Corbin, Quiz Bowl;
• Michael Boswell and Isaiah Edmond, juniors, and Douglas Maguire and Tayyab Nawaz, seniors, TeamWorks; and
• Abigail Barton, senior, Welding Sculpture.

These students advanced to the state level of competition after placing in the top three scorers in their respective categories at the regional event. They earned first place at the state event from among more than 1,000 career and technology education students who competed.

The following North Point students earned second or third place at the state event:

• Nikyah Barber, Elizabeth Lopez and Fiona Quenano, seniors, American Spirit, second place;
• Kelsey Swegle, Nicki Patel and Hannah McMillen, juniors, Career Pathways – Health Science, second place;
• Jeremy Butler, Nadia Corbett and Quincy Mitchell, juniors, Crime Scene Investigation, second place;
• Logan Steele, junior, Criminal Justice, second place;
• Daniel Shimiles-Menns, sophomore, and Christian Coombs and Carl Flerlage, seniors, Welding Fabrication, second place;
• Madison Stanley, senior, Commercial Baking, third place;
• Emma Jacobs, senior, Early Childhood Education, third place; and
• Dominique Cunningham, senior, Pin Design, third place.

The Skills USA regional competition is a showcase event for career and technology students in the tri-county area. Students compete locally and continue through the state and national levels. The philosophy of the competition is to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and to train students for employer needs and future career goals.

Skills USA is a national partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure a skilled work force. The organization serves more than 300,000 high school and college students, as well as professional members, nationwide. As part of the Skills USA program, students gain experiences in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development. The organization focuses on quality at work, high ethical standards, superior work skills, lifelong education and pride in the dignity of work.

For more information on the Skills USA program, visit http://www.skillsusa.org/.