(Clarksdale, Mississippi) - The 2025 SkillsUSA State Leadership & Skills Conference
was held in Canton and Jackson, MS. Our Collision & Repair students competed at the
Nissan Automotive plant on March 26th, and on April 1-3, our trade area students competed at the Mississippi Trade Mart
downtown Jackson, MS. The annual SkillsUSA conference is a showcase of over a hundred
outstanding career and technical education students competing in 30 different trade,
technical and leadership events. This annual event is for students who are enrolled
in career technical programs that are members of a SkillsUSA chapter.
During the state SkillsUSA competition, the CTE students worked against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations such as; Carpentry, Cabinetmaking, TeamWorks, Automotive Refinishing and Collision & Repair. All of the contests are run by SkillsUSA, with the help of industry and trade associations.
We are truly elated and proud of our students who participated in the SkillsUSA state
competition. This was an exciting time for some of our students because this was their
first time competing at state. We also had 2 students who returned to compete in the
same category that they won last year. The total number of medals that Coahoma received
in all were 8 medals. Our state first-place (gold medal) winners are eligible to compete
at the national SkillsUSA Championships, which will be held in Atlanta, June 23-27,
2025.
Jamarious Gilliam, who is a residential carpentry student, won the pin design at the 2025 State Leadership and Skills Conference. He was the only postsecondary student to submit a pin design. Jemarious’ pin design will be used for our state pin at nationals in Atlanta, GA.
The purpose of the pin design contest is to provide students an opportunity to showcase their graphic design skills. This contest is open to paid SkillsUSA chapter members who are affiliated with a Mississippi postsecondary chapter.
Gold Medals:
TeamWorks, Michael McLaurin, Mound Bayou, MS (Residential Carpentry)
TeamWorks, Joshua Wilson, Cleveland, MS (Residential Carpentry)
TeamWorks, Josepha Eskridge, Lyon, MS (Residential Carpentry)
TeamWorks, Gregory Thomas, Clarksdale, MS (Residential Carpentry)
Automotive Refinishing, Jatavian Williams, Clarksdale, MS (Collision & Repair)
Silver Medals
Carpentry, Hernando Edwards, Charleston, MS (Residential Carpentry)
Cabinetmaking, Donald Harrington, Clarksdale, MS (Residential Carpentry)
Collision & Repair, Jakevin Williams, Clarksdale, MS (Collision & Repair)