Washburn Tech students strive to be the best of the best, an attitude that serves them well in SkillsUSA. SkillsUSA is a national membership association serving high school, college and middle school students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, including health occupations, and for further education. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA helps each student excel.
For more information, contact Washburn Tech's SkillsUSA advisors at SkillsUSA@washburn.edu.
Washburn Tech students traveled to Atlanta at the end of June 2025 to join more than 6,800 students competing in 114 hands-on skill and leadership competitions.
Walker Coulter brought home a silver medal, finishing second place in the nation for Auto Refinishing Technology at the annual SkillsUSA National Championships. This year there were 63 Automotive Refinishing Technology competitors, including 36 high school students and 27 college students. High school and college students competed in collision repair from more than a dozen states.
Washburn Tech’s Quiz Bowl team also competed at the National Championships, finishing fourth. The group of five students spent many hours learning and practicing this year, and their work has paid off yet again. The team consists of William Sevy (Topeka), Carson Russell (Meridan), Thomas Geraghty (Topeka), Logan Poertner (Osage City) and Toby Reavis (Gridley).
“I’m extremely proud of all of the work our team put in this year,” said Trudi Kenney, SkillsUSA Advisor. “These students put in hours of practice each week to ready themselves for this competition.” The competition took two hours to complete, with the group answering a total of 100 questions.
Other Washburn Tech students who placed at the competition include Catheryn Chew (Auburn), who finished 8th in Baking, Taylor Sanders (Baldwin City), who finished 9th in Medical Math, and Alexander Randolph (Topeka), who finished 14th in the nation in Plumbing.
The SkillsUSA Championships is the nation’s largest hands-on workforce development event for middle school, high school and college/postsecondary students enrolled in career and technical education programs.
Washburn Tech students competed in the SkillsUSA Kansas competition April 2025 in Hutchinson, Kan. Our competitors won 28 medals with our first place medalists qualifying to compete on the national stage in Atlanta, Ga., this June.
SkillsUSA mission is to empower its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. SkillsUSA improves the quality of our nation's future skilled workforce through the development of Framework skills that include personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics.
The organization's vision is to produce the most highly skilled workforce in the world, providing every member the opportunity for career success.
Join the Washburn Tech chapter of SkillsUSA! Attend meetings and explore the leadership opportunities that are available. Many of our students hold district and state offices. Members also choose to participate in competitions that put their technical skills to the test.
SkillsUSA offers more than 100 contests to its members. Competitors hone their skills, with the help of Washburn Tech instructors, and compete in the spring against other chapter members from around Kansas. Students who win at the state competition qualify to compete on the national level. The SkillsUSA Championships are held every June in Atlanta, Ga.
