GAERF Presents Awards to Competitors in SkillsUSA National Championships
RESTON, Va.—July 22, 2015—The Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation (GAERF) presented more than $25,000 in awards to the nation's top advertising design, graphic communications and screen printing technology students who participated in the SkillsUSA Championships held at the 51st annual National Leadership and Skills Conference, June 22-26, 2015, in Louisville, Kentucky.
"GAERF is committed to supporting programs that prepare our workforce of the future," said Ralph Nappi, GAERF president. "In this spirit, we are delighted to recognize our industry's most talented students and encourage them to consider the many exciting career opportunities the graphic communications industry has to offer."
The annual event, which this year hosted more than 6,000 contestants competing in 100 different trade, technical and leadership fields, showcases the top career and technical education students in the nation. Its purpose is to reward students for excellence, directly involve industry in evaluating student performance, and provide training relevant to employers' needs. To that end, the exhibition—which occupies a space equivalent to 16 football fields—is held with the assistance and support of industry, trade associations and labor organizations.
To become eligible for the national competition, students must first compete at the state level. Two representatives from each state—one at the secondary school level and one at post-secondary—then advance to the national competition.
Advertising Design medalists at the secondary school level were:
- Gold: Ciara Jacobi from Sussex Technical High School, Georgetown, Delaware
- Silver: Megan Miller from Miami Valley Career Technical Center, Clayton, Ohio
- Bronze: Kylee Smith from Tulsa Technology Center – Riverside, Tulsa, Oklahoma
At the post-secondary school level, the winners were:
- Gold: Juan Alvarado from Des Moines Area Community College, Ankeny, Iowa
- Silver: Alissa Hicks from Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City
- Bronze: Bethanie Fuhrman from Macomb Community College, Warren, Michigan
Graphic Communications medalists at the secondary school level were:
- Gold: Chandler Kerr from Center of Applied Technology – North, Severn, Maryland
- Silver: Alexander Westbrooks from Dubiski Career High School, Grand Prairie, Texas
- Bronze: Emily Woods from Monmouth County Vocational School – Wall, Wall, New Jersey
At the post-secondary school level, the winners were:
- Gold: Tiffany Vang from Riverside Community College, Riverside, California
- Silver: Jason Horn from Illinois Central College, East Peoria, Illinois
- Bronze: Kalon Stephens from Tulsa Technology Center – Sand Springs, Sand Springs, Oklahoma
Screen Printing Technology medalists at the secondary school level were:
- Gold: Travis Hathaway from Waynesville Career Center, Waynesville, Missouri
- Silver: Haleigh Alexander from Pickens County Career and Technology Center, Liberty, South Carolina
- Bronze: KD Dehnert from Douglas High School, Minden, Nevada
At the post-secondary school level, the winners were:
- Gold: Kimberly Jeppson from Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City
- Silver: Bradley Carlton from Forsyth Tech Community College, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Bronze: Barbara Paris from Waynesville Career Center, Waynesville, Missouri
About GAERF
The Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation was established in 1983 by Epicomm (formerly the National Association for Printing Leadership), NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies and the Printing Industries of America. These three national associations jointly own the Graphic Arts Show Co. (GASC). GAERF was created to channel a portion of the revenues earned by GASC-managed shows into projects supporting a strong future for the industry.
About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a not-for-profit association that serves more than 300,000 member high school, college and post-secondary students—and their instructors—in trade, technical and skilled service instructional programs. SkillsUSA partners educators and students with business and industry to help ensure the United States has a well-prepared rising skilled workforce. SkillsUSA has the active support of more than 600 companies, trade associations and labor unions at the national level. In the time since its 1965 founding as the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America, annual membership figures have totaled more than 11.9 million. SkillsUSA programs teach leadership, citizenship and character development to complement technical skill training. The organization emphasizes respect for the dignity of work, ethics, workmanship, scholarship and safety.
Source: GAERF.
