A Carl Sandburg College student is the first in school history to medal at a SkillsUSA national competition.
Gavin Gerard of Oneida won the bronze medal in masonry at the SkillsUSA Championships last week in Atlanta.
SkillsUSA is a workforce development organization that hosts competitions in a range of disciplines that are judged on the regional, state and national levels.
This was the second year in a row Gerard was able to compete on the national level as he qualified in the job interview category last year and again in 2024.
The masonry competition has students complete a written exam and then they have six hours to construct a composite brick-and-block project that tested their ability to meet industry standards in quality.
More than 6,000 students took part in the SkillsUSA Championships, which featured competitions in 115 trade, technical and leadership fields.
Gerard was joined at the national competition by five other state champions from Sandburg, Faith Kiprop (technical computer applications), Brian Kipchemis (medical math), Ascar Jepchirchir (medical terminology) and Sullivan Ross (welding sculpture).
