CACTC students rank among best at national competition

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Each year, the Cranston Area Career and Technical Center (CACTC) sends those students who have ranked at the top of their career and technical program competition at the state level to the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference.

This year, the conference’s 50th, 18 students traveled with several faculty members and advisors to the event and returned ranked among the top 10 in the country in their specific areas of study. For some, it was a first-time experience, while others had been to the conference before.

The conference, a showcase of the top-notch students in career and technical education across the country, hosts more than 15,000 people, including students, teachers and business partners. It was held this year in Kansas City, Mo., during the last week of June.

According to the competition’s website, www.skillsusa.org, “More than 6,000 outstanding career and technical education students – all state contest winners – [competed] hands-on in 99 different trade, technical and leadership fields. Students work[ed] against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations like electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts.”

Zachary Lachance, Daniel Rainone, Olivia Braga, Anthony Mansolillo, Ben Marcotte, Kobe Pereira, Seamus Winters, Ashley Estrella, Alani Munoz, Autumn Cardente and Erin Blake represented CACTC as those who ranked in the top 10 spots at the national conference this year, competing and placing in a wide range of career path competitions including mobile robotics, robotics and automation technology, medical terminology and basic health care skills.

According to Lori Velino, a faculty advisor and chaperone on the trip, “Only seven kids out of our 18 did not rank in the top 10. We had the most top 10 students in Rhode Island.”

CACTC Director Gerry Auth was thrilled to hear the results, which he said are a testament to the top-notch career and technical programs housed at CACTC.

“We are very proud of these students. I went on this trip last year and it can be a very intimidating experience,” he said.

Chef Steve Versacci, a faculty member in CACTC’s culinary arts career path program, attended the trip for the first time and is a new SkillsUSA advisor as well.

“It was a very physical, emotional and mental competition,” he said.

In addition to the stress of the competition itself and knowing the material, there is added stress such as waiting to find out the results and rankings – as well as finding out, as Estrella did, that a competition time has been switched and instead of competing later, the competition was taking place immediately. Even with the added pressure of an impending competition, Estrella ultimately ranked sixth in the country in her event, basic health care skills.

Hearing the news of the students’ rankings was a moment at the state dinner on the last day that Mansolillo will remember for a long time to come.

“On the last day there, we had a state dinner and the awards were being handed out for participation. A large number of us didn’t get awards and we were wondering what was up. They had those of us who didn’t receive awards stand up,” Mansolillo said. “It was then that they told us that if we were standing, we’d ranked in the top 10. It was incredible. We were surprised. We had the most top 10 winners in Rhode Island.”

In addition to the intense moments the students will remember, there were less stressful times as well, and those won’t soon be forgotten, either.

“There is such a sense of camaraderie, even at the state level. We hadn’t met a lot of the state participants before, and I wasn’t anticipating how close we’d become. We weren’t there as separate groups – one from Cranston, one from Chariho. We were now there as Rhode Island,” Winters said.

Although the students and staff members were there for the competition, they were able to also take in the local area and meet students from across the country.

“It was like a food adventure,” Versacci said, noting the various types of foods the students were able to indulge in while on the trip.

“Pin collecting is huge,” Velino said. “Each year the students and staff try to trade pins so that they leave with a pin from every state. It’s a great way to meet a lot of people from all different states.

Even though the students described the feeling of competing in such a high-stakes competition as being nerve-wracking, hard, intimidating and sometimes scary, all said they’d do it again if eligible. Only two of the students who competed this year were graduating seniors, moving on in their post-secondary education careers. The rest will begin preparing for next year’s competition soon after the start of the school year.

“There are hours and hours of after school preparing and practicing,” Velino said.

All are in agreement, however, that it’s worthwhile.

“When we found out we were in second place, with a five-way tie for those in first, we were so happy. We were crying – it was an amazing feeling,” said Cardente, who had been on last year’s trip as well. “I didn’t think that anything could live up to last year’s trip, but this year, we surpassed it.”

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