VERONA, NY - Building lifelong skills does not have to be a competition, but a select group of students at Camden High School are reaping the rewards of competing in their chosen trade. Madison-Oneida BOCES has announced that four students from Camden High School have received place-winner awards at the SkillsUSA regional competition held on February 10th at SUNY Morrisville.
SkillsUSA is a national education-industry partnership that allows students to compete in career-focused contests to demonstrate technical, employment and leadership skills. Students in CTE programs compete locally and regionally to qualify for slots at the state, national and international levels.
MOBOCES sent 50 students to compete against their peers representing other area high school and BOCES CTE programs. Of that group of 50 students, four were able to claim first place honors, while sixteen students in total were named place-winners.
Two of the four MOBOCES students winning first place awards were Camden students, as senior Ivy Murphy claimed first prize in the Nail Care competition, while junior Ty Hatzinger showcased his skills to earn the top spot in the Cosmetology competition. Both students participate in the Cosmetology program at MOBOCES.
Senior Payton Narolis was a second place finisher in the team-oriented Health Knowledge Bowl competition. She earned the honors alongside her MOBOCES teammates from Rome Free Academy, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, and Morrisville Eaton. Narolis is a student in the Advanced Health Science program.
Senior Gianni Liberatore was a third place finisher in Electrical Construction Wiring. Liberatore is enrolled in the Electrical/HVAC program at MOBOCES.
As place-winners, these students will join other top CTE students from around the state to compete at the New York State SkillsUSA Competition in April. The event will be held at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.