Malverne teacher’s student wins gold at Skills USA

Malverne resident Doris Bove-Aresta’s student, Jacob Shuster, of Sea Cliff, was awarded a gold medal in the Pin Design contest at the annual National Leadership and Skills Conference and Skills USA Championships.

The competition was held at H. Roe Bartle Hall, Municipal Auditorium an American Royal in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 25.

Aresta is an Advertising and Animation Design teacher and Skills USA advisor at Joseph M. Barry Career and Technical Education Center. Shuster is her student at Barry Tech, and a junior at North Shore High School.

“I am very proud of Jacob’s accomplishments,” Aresta said. “He and the other students that participated in the pin design competition are true champions in their dedication to excellence in their trade and their leadership skills.”

During the competition, Shuster presented his New York state lapel pin design to a panel of judges in a five to seven minute speech. All contests are run with the help of industry, trade associations, and labor organizations, and test competencies are set by industry. 

The Skills USA Championships is considered the largest single-day corporate volunteerism in America and valued at $35 million in industry using standards for employment. More than 1,000 industry judges participated this year. All winners receive medallions and frequently receive tools of their trade and/or scholarships to further their careers and education.

According to Aresta, the Skills USA Championships is for high school and college-level students who are members of Skills USA. More than 5,500 students from every state and three territories competed in 94 contests in technical, skilled and service occupations, including health occupations this year. In order to qualify for the national competition, the students competed in local and state contests. The state gold medal winners advanced to the national Skills USA Championships.

Skills USA is a national partnership of students, teachers and industry, working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. Skills USA chapters help students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations excel. Skills USA has more than 330,000 students and instructors as members.

For more information, visit http://www.SkillsUSA.org.