(WACO, Texas) – Students from Texas State Technical College’s Waco campus won more than 25 medals at the recent 2025 SkillsUSA Texas Leadership and Skills Conference in Corpus Christi.
Students won gold medals in eight events, which qualifies them to participate in the 2025 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference taking place June 23-27 in Atlanta, Georgia.
“I’m so proud of the hard work, dedication and discipline our students have shown while competing in events tied directly to their chosen degrees and future careers,” said Abby Ford, SkillsUSA coordinator for TSTC’s Waco campus.
Welding Technology student Rylee Hunt, of Lolita in Jackson County, was part of a three-member Welding Fabrication team with fellow students Collin Burnett, of Alvarado, and Connor Hatley, of Rockwall. The team won the gold medal, beating out another Welding Fabrication team from the Waco campus that won a silver medal.
Hunt said the students took about five hours to squeeze tubing in order to fabricate parts to create a rocket stove. He said the project came together well.
Hunt said he and his teammates first met by being put together as a team by Joshua Wiersema, a TSTC Welding Technology instructor. Work during classes counted toward practice time for the competition.
“I think we all got the passion for welding and wanted to make it into a win,” Hunt said.
Hunt said extra practice days will be scheduled during the summer semester to practice welding on different types of materials in preparation for the national conference.
“It’s wild being the Texas representative,” he said.
Alan Markley, from Huntington, Texas, received the gold medal in the Internetworking contest. The Computer Networking and Systems Administration student was tested on his knowledge of customer service, ethernet cables and creating a network.
Markley said he wanted to participate in SkillsUSA because of the opportunities to meet other people who also are fascinated with technology.
Cybersecurity student Javier Zuniga, of Sanger, placed first in the Information Technology Services competition. For his contest, he completed a 100-question test tied to the CompTIA A+ certification and worked through hands-on exercises.
Zuniga said he practiced once a week for the state contest, but sessions will be held more frequently leading up to the national conference.
“I have enjoyed the journey along the way and the support system around us,” he said.
Other students receiving gold medals were:
— Architectural Drafting: Talia Colombo
— Carpentry: Zacarias Felipe
— Plumbing: Jonathan Gann
— TeamWorks: Victor Flores, Michael Lopez, Jackson Pace and Chad Robertson
— Telecommunications Cabling: Daniel Mukendi
For more information on SkillsUSA, go to skillsusa.org.
For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.
