Sowela students dominated at Nationals earlier this summer. One broke a record. The National SkillsUSA Championships recognizes excellence in career and technical education, and it is invitation-only. Held in Atlanta this year, it pitted first-place winners at the state level against each other in timed competitions.

Madeleine Guillory earned the Silver medal in Advertising Design and received recognition for designing the National Conference Pin and T-Shirt, marking the first time a Sowela student has won, and the first time a student has ever won both contests.

“The advertising design competition has a creative and mechanical portion,” Guillory said. “We had to recreate an ad in four hours during the mechanical portion. For the creative portion, we had to do three logos in three color variations, a sticker design and a mascot design, front, sides and back.”

Pedro Carlucci and Aaron Burleigh came home with the bronze for their television ad which they shot, edited and produced – and they didn’t have as long as the other teams to do the work.

“It’s a long story, but everyone was out sick, so there were like, four people running 10 different competitions,” Burleign said.

Carlucci and Burleigh agreed that Sowela’s lab is one thing that probably puts its students ahead of students from other schools. It’s filled with the latest available technology – and there are plenty of computers and other equipment to allow each student hands-on experience.

Caitlyn Dionne’s photography earned her the gold.     

“It wasn’t one photo that won,” Dionne clarified. The score was over nine categories: interview, field assignment product photography, conceptual design, Photoshop editing, trouble-shooting quiz, photography knowledge quiz and print competition.

Dionne started her graphic degree at Sowela while she was still a senior in high school, and she is now working on a computer engineering degree through McNeese.

“My parents and my mom especially, were a big influence in my decision to attend Sowela as a way to learn to use my photography in more ways, for example in advertising,” Dionne said.

The National SkillsUSA win underscores the quality and education provided by Sowela and its commitment to preparing students for career excellence and contributions to the broader community.

“Competing at the national level requires a lot of courage and skill,” said SkillsUSA Advisor Darrell Buck. “Despite the pressure, our students handled it with class. I am thrilled for them and look forward to seeing what they accomplish next.”

Sowela offers an Associate of Applied Science in Digital Arts and Communication and certifications through its School of Business & Applied Technology. The Associate of Arts Louisiana Transfer degree program is designed to facilitate transfer from community/technical colleges to related baccalaureate degree programs at state universities in Louisiana. The General Education courses will transfer as a total block rather than by individual courses.