Chattahoochee Technical College student Michael Wells, a Criminal Justice Technology student and Sergeant with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, received a first-place gold medal for competing in this year’s SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference. The event, held June 22-26 in Louisville, Ky., featured more than 6,000 career and technical education students—all state winners—who competed in 100 different trade, technical, and leadership fields.
For his area of competition, Wells had to complete two written exams, an oral interview, and four scenarios that simulate real life law enforcement situations.
“His knowledge, training and experience prepared him so well for each component of the competition,” CTC Criminal Justice Technology instructor Jennifer Combs said. “He said that the academic knowledge that he's gained through the Criminal Justice program helped him score well on the written exams.” Previously, Wells had to complete a single mock traffic stop at the SkillsUSA regional matchup—the competition leading up to the National Leadership and Skills Conference.
“The scenario was a traffic stop, where I could smell marijuana and the driver decided to tell me that he had smoked it two hours ago,” Wells told the Cherokee Ledger News in April. “I am a drug recognition expert, so I took it further than I think they were expecting one of their criminal justice students to take it.”
Wells competed among three other Chattahoochee students – Ryan Shearhouse of Woodstock, who competed in Diesel Equipment Technology; Noah Bazarte, of Cobb County, who competed in Culinary Arts; and Dustin Sherwood, of Douglasville, who competed in Industrial Motor Control. Bazarte, who resides in Cobb County, received a third-place bronze medal in the area of Culinary Arts. According to a press release from SkillsUSA, “In the Culinary Arts competition, students prepare both hot and cold food and give a presentation. Contestants demonstrate their knowledge and skills through the production of a four-course menu in a full day competition. The contestants are rated on their organization, knife skills, cooking techniques, creative presentation, sanitation food safety techniques, and above all, the quality and flavor of their prepared items.”
SkillsUSA, Contests are run with the assistance of industry, trade associations, and labor organizations, with test competencies set by industry. Leadership contestants demonstrate skills including extemporaneous speaking and conducting meetings by parliamentary procedure. For more information on Chattahoochee Technical College, visit www.ChattahoocheeTech.edu or call 770-528-4545.