Students from Temple and Belton high schools excelled at the recent SkillsUSA and FCCLA competitions in Waco and Bellmead.

The #WildcatWorkforce, Temple High’s Career & Technical Education students, competed at the SkillsUSA District 10 competition for Skills and Leadership last weekend, with nearly 40 students winning first-place honors and 90 of 100 students advancing to state. The competition was held at Texas State Technical College.

Belton High School had 49 students advance to state at the District 10 competition.

“The vast majority of our competitors placed first or second in all the events that they entered,” said Amanda Necessary, CTE director at Belton. “They are all advancing to the state level.”

Belton’s first-place winners included Alexandra Locklin, Baillie Stephens and Kyla Dermody, whose anti-human trafficking project was featured in the Telegram at https://goo.gl/DVYnKw.

“We’re just really excited about the results,” Necessary said.

Health Sciences teacher Heather Bankhead said the SkillsUSA students and staff at Temple High are really excited about the competition results.

“I think (90) percent of all the students made it on to state — that was pretty impressive,” Bankhead said. “All my students are so excited.”

The state SkillsUSA competition will be held in Corpus Christi in April, and Bell County’s competitors are already preparing for the event.

“They’re looking forward to that trip down there,” Bankhead said. “They’re studying even harder.”

Necessary said the SkillsUSA program is very beneficial to education at Belton High School.

“We just love what SkillsUSA teaches,” she said. “The students learn to associate their schoolwork with real work. It enhances the lives and careers they’re going to have.”

Temple High School also had a culinary team place first in the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America competition this past weekend in Waco. A life event planning team placed sixth, and all will advance to the FCCLA state competition in Dallas in April.

 

By Mariel Williams Telegram staff writer