Oak Harbor High School Students Shine at SkillsUSA State Conference

Posted Date: 4/01/25 (9:59 PM)

A group of young people, wearing purple shirts and medals, pose for a photo in front of a stone fireplace. They are holding a banner that reads 'SkillsUSA State Champion 2023'.

Reporting by Emelyn Payne (OHHS Student Class of ‘26)
Photography by OHHS Students and Staff

On March 28, 58 Oak Harbor High School students participated in the SkillsUSA Washington State Leadership & Skills Conference, competing against top high school students from across the state. After advancing through regional competitions, these students traveled to Tacoma to demonstrate their skills in categories including Video Game Design, Broadcasting, Welding Sculpture, and Technical Drafting.

The conference concluded with an awards ceremony, where 14 Oak Harbor High School students and teams placed in the top three statewide in their respective categories. Additionally, Oak Harbor High School was recognized as the Largest High School SkillsUSA Chapter in Washington. Students who secured first place in their events will advance to the SkillsUSA National Conference in June.

Madisyn Spanos (‘25) competed in Broadcasting and shared the emotional moments of the competition, "the most stressful part of competing was while filming our broadcast from scratch, especially since we had a lot of technical difficulties, but the moment we finished it and realized we were done everyone in my group started crying because we were so relieved and happy we had finished it.”

Reflecting on the event, Katherine Sheppard (‘26) highlighted the significance of the awards ceremony, stating, “I was not expecting to hear my name when they announced first place, but they did, and now I can’t wait to compete at Nationals.”

Complete List of Winners

First Place – Advancing to Nationals
- Photography – Zoey Spanos
- Pin Design – Olivia Hudson
- Video Production – Katherine Sheppard and Emma Rosser
- Engineering Design Technology – Grant Nienhuis, Courtney Williams, Eleanor Saltonstall
- Technical Drafting – Edward Perera
Second Place Finishers
- Motorcycle Service Technology - Laylah Muro
- Video Game Design - Curtis Smith, Nathan Buchanan (GearStar)
- Additive Manufacturing - Grant Nienhuis, Courtney Williams
- Architectural Design - Calum Mannion
- Engineering Design Technology - Gwynth Miller, Sarah Aldrich, Jeralyn Lopez-Payan
- Technical Drafting - Camisha Chua
Third Place Finishers
- Video Game Design - Tyler Sitka, Amit Webb, Ash Brennan (Thoumthump)
- Broadcasting - Madisyn Spanos, Elia Moore, Fidelia Bockarie, Bernyze Lee
- Technical Drafting - Ivan Perez
- Welding Sculpture - Bailey Maxwell