NPC News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jeff Weaver, Melony Ritter
(501) 760.6410 office
press@np.edu

April 20, 2016

NPC STUDENTS EARN 11 SKILLSUSA MEDALS

Hot Springs, Arkansas – National Park College (NPC) students competed in the SkillsUSA Arkansas Leadership and Skills Championship last week at the Hot Springs Convention Center. The annual competition saw over 1800 competitors from around the state that competed in over 100 contests at the high school and college levels. Students winning gold medals during the competition earned the right to compete at the national SkillsUSA Championships and Leadership Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, June 20-24. A total of 33 students represented NPC during the competition. National Park Technology Center (NPTC) high school students garnered seven medals, and NPC welding students earned four medals.

In total, 11 NPC students earned medals, including:

• Matt Howard, Welding Fabrication; bronze (team)
• Tanner Surratt, Welding Fabrication; bronze (team)
• Gerardo Altamirano, Welding Fabrication; bronze (team)
• Pierce Ivers, Pipe Welding, silver
• Brian McKinney, Traffic Stop, gold
• Hunter Grubbs, traffic Stop, bronze
• Chelsy Young, Crime Scene Investigation; gold (team)
• Anna Soto, Crime Scene Investigation; gold (team)
• Meagan Launius, Crime Scene Investigation; gold (team)
• Kelsey Richard, Job Interview, gold
• Nic Arnaud, High School Advertising and Graphic Design; gold

The high school Criminal Justice program earned gold medals in Crime Scene Investigation, Traffic Stop and Job Interview. The CSI team of Chelsy Young, Anna Soto and Meagan Launius took top honors after winning a tie breaker round in the competition.

Brian McKinney stood out in the Traffic Stop competition, earning the gold medal and receiving high praise for his efforts from several contest judges. McKinney’s gold medal performance in this area was complemented by classmate Hunter Grubbs who picked up a bronze medal in the contest. Criminal Justice student Kelsey Richard earned gold in the Job Interview competition.

Nic Arnaud picked up a gold medal for his work in the high school Advertising and Graphic Design competition.

The college’s Welding program received the first competition medals in the history of the program. Pierce Ivers picked up a silver medal for his work in the Pipe Welding contest. The Welding Fabrication team of Matt Howard, Tanner Surratt and Gerardo Altamirano earned the bronze medal in their competition.

Former Quapaw Technical Institute President Hugh Cheek was recognized during the closing awards ceremony with a SkillsUSA Lifetime Member Award for his efforts in and support of SkillsUSA during his career. The Lifetime Member Award is one of SkillsUSA’s most coveted honors and recognizes individuals whose support of SkillsUSA has gone above and beyond. Mr. Cheek served as director from September 1977 to December 1987.

Photo: Front row left to right, Criminal Justice Instructor, Paula Ford; welding student, Gerardo Altamirano; criminal justice students, Kelsey Richard, Anna Soto, Chelsy Young, Meagan Launius, Hunter Grubbs; Back row left to right, Criminal Justice Instructor, Ryan McKinney; welding student, Matt Howard; ad design student, Nic Arnaud; criminal justice student, Brian McKinney; welding students, Tanner Surratt, and Pierce Ivers.