From left: David Bertrand, Margaret Kingston and Lana Karnai. Photo by Winifred Bird.
This April, high school junior David Bertrand groped his way through a smoke-filled room, fully decked out in firefighting gear, with just a hose to guide him through the zero-visibility space. Fellow junior Lana Karnai rushed between thirteen hospital beds, performing CPR, denture care, vital sign checks, and more on real people. And Margaret Kingston, a senior, came up with a plan to save the artwork in a museum with broken HVAC and sprinkler systems in just fifteen minutes.
Their outstanding performance under pressure at the SkillsUSA Vermont Leadership & Skills Conference earned them each a gold medal and a chance to compete at the national competition of SkillsUSA, a nonprofit that bills itself as the “champion of the skilled trades” for students in middle school through college. All three are students at Otter Valley Union High School and Stafford Technical Center. Today they and 13 other Stafford students head to Atlanta for the championship. They return on Saturday.
“It’s empowering to know that we can compete on a national level both educationally and in imparting skills to youth that are so valued,” said June Kelly, a Brandon resident who is Bertrand and Kingston’s program teacher in Public Safety and Criminal Justice at Stafford. Kelly, who spent thirty years in policing and at the Vermont Police Academy, has been actively involved with SkillsUSA since she came to Stafford seven years ago.
The organization has over 440,000 members across the country, most of them high school students. This week, those who earned top spots in the state-level competitions are heading to Atlanta for an event that draws around 19,000 competitors, teachers, industry partners, government officials, and organizers. They will compete in categories ranging from carpentry and cosmetology to robotics, web design, and cybersecurity.
Later this week, Bertrand will compete in Firefighting, Karnai will compete in Nurse Assisting, and Kingston will compete in Facilithon, which tests leadership in facilities management.
As for how the three OVU students were feeling on the eve of the competition, Bertrand summed it up: “Nervous, but I think I’m ready to compete.”
From Skills to Careers
All three students are well on their way to careers in their chosen fields, thanks to their work at Stafford and opportunities like SkillsUSA.
Kingston, who lives in Brandon, is aiming to become a police officer. She graduated from Stafford last week and will enter Norwich University’s Corps of Cadets program in the fall with 18 college credits under her belt, plus experience interning at the Police Academy, in hospital security, and at Regional Ambulance Service — not to mention plenty of relevant personal experience.
“I live on a horse farm, so disaster situations aren’t exactly uncommon for my life,” she said with a laugh. “I work fairly well under pressure."
Bertrand wants to be an EMT or a firefighter, and in fact, he’s already a cadet at the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department. He says he’s wanted to help people “for as long as I can remember.” Stafford appealed to him because it allows him to get a jump start on his firefighter certifications while still in high school.
Karnai, who lives in Pittsford, is on her way to a career as a nurse practitioner, either in an emergency department or as a traveling nurse. She’s currently in Stafford’s Health Careers program and is applying to work at a nursing home this summer. Her gold medal at the Vermont SkillsUSA competition earned her a $2,000 college scholarship, as well as a stethoscope and other prizes (all SkillsUSA winners garner similar prizes).
For Kelly, connecting students with SkillsUSA programs is part of her broader commitment to tech education, which she views as crucial for both students and society.
“It fills a gap we’re missing now. We have so many openings in tech-related fields,” she said. “What they walk away with academically, collegially, and in career skills and industry-recognized credentials is amazing.”
Karnai, who has already earned her Licensed Nursing Assistant qualification through her program, agreed.
“I just want people to know that Stafford is such a great opportunity for them if they want to figure out what they want to do with their life,” she said.
