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HARLINGEN — Some Texas State Technical College students from the Harlingen location medaled at the recent 2024 SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary State Leadership and Skills Conference in Houston.
Winning gold medals were Allison Agundiz, of Donna, in Welding Sculpture; Mohamed Deyab, of Harlingen, in Sheet Metal; Rene Garay Jr., of Brownsville, Matthew Muniz, of Mercedes, and Adrian Munoz, of Harlingen, in Automated Manufacturing Technology; Layla Garcia, of Harlingen, Juan Hernandez, of Harlingen, and Daniel Rendon, of Alton, in Engineering Technology – Design; Kevin Hill, of Harlingen, and Mia Segueda, of San Benito, in Mechatronics; Anthony Limon, of Mission, and Jose Loerasolis, of Harlingen, in Robotics – Urban Search and Rescue; Erick Ramirez, of Harlingen, in Aviation Maintenance Technology; Reymundo Salinas, of Harlingen, in Medical Terminology; Dulce Sosa, of San Benito, in First Aid – CPR; and Julissa Villegas, of Weslaco, in Collision Damage Appraisal.
The gold medalists are eligible to advance to the 60th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference that will be held June 24-28 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Eladio Jaimez, provost at TSTC’s Harlingen location, said TSTC is proud of the students’ success at SkillsUSA.
“Our students are dedicated to their skills and possess an unmatched work ethic,” he said. “When they graduate, they will be workforce-ready. A platform like SkillsUSA showcases those talents.”
Isaac Gonzalez is TSTC’s SkillsUSA statewide coordinator.
“The variety of competencies that our SkillsUSA advisors and instructors taught our students helped them succeed at the highest level,” he said.
Limon and Loerasolis represented TSTC’s Wind Energy Technology program in the Robotics – Urban Search and Rescue team competition.
“It was an amazing feeling to earn a gold medal for our first time,” Limon said. “The day before the competition, we were working on our robot. Out of nowhere some white smoke came out and it stopped working. We problem-solved, troubleshooted and figured out which part needed to be fixed.”
Hill and Segueda represented TSTC’s Mechatronics Technology program in the Mechatronics team competition.
“It was a life-changing experience competing for my first time,” Segueda said. “The key to our success was teamwork and communication.”
Sosa represented TSTC’s Emergency Medical Services program in First Aid – CPR.
“It was my first time competing, and it was a surreal experience,” she said. “I did my best to be positive and focused.”
The TSTC students from the Harlingen location listed below were also successful in bringing home medals from the competition.
>> Automated Manufacturing Technology: Jose Garcia, Ryan Hughes and Christopher Sanchez, bronze
>> Automotive Refinishing Technology: Emiliana Benites, silver, and Dominick Zavala, bronze
>> Aviation Maintenance Technology: Isaac Pena, silver, and Tyler Hamilton, bronze
>> CNC 3-Axis Milling Programmer: Andres Guerrero, bronze
>> Collision Damage Appraisal: Daniel Pacheco, bronze
>> Dental Assisting: Miriam Sanchez, silver
>> Early Childhood Education: Gabrielle Pinon, bronze
>> Emergency Medical Technician: Francisco Alvarado and America Cruz, silver
>> First Aid – CPR: Reymundo Salinas, bronze
>> Job Interview: Diana Rocha, silver, and Miriam Sanchez, bronze
>> Mechatronics: Chris Bryant and Jose Hernandez, bronze
>> Medical Math: Cynthia Rodriguez, silver
>> Medical Terminology: Mohamad Deyab, silver
>> Nurse Assisting: Cynthia Rodriguez, silver
>> Robotics – Urban Search and Rescue: Jessica Alaniz and Ana Garcia, bronze
>> TeamWorks: Rolando Garcia, Sergio Godina, Steven Bultes Rentas and Luis Felipe Torres, bronze
>> Welding Sculpture: Karina Garza, silver
The SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference is a competitive event where postsecondary students demonstrate their educational skills at the highest level. That opportunity may help students get hired in the Texas workforce. For more information, visit skillsusatx.org and skillsusa.org.
Registration for TSTC’s summer and fall semesters is underway. For more information, visit tstc.edu.