The Grasso Tech chapter of SkillsUSA won 15 awards at the state competition in Meriden on Friday, March 31, including the first state officer position for the school in the more than 20 years that advisor Sandi Jameson has led the chapter.

SkillsUSA is a national leadership organization dedicated to preparing students for careers in technical fields. Jameson said each state has a competition, and each technical school in Connecticut sends a team to the all-day competition in Meriden. Students take a test in their trades in January, and each school can send one student in each trade to the competition as well as whoever scores high enough on the test to qualify.

Thirty students represented Grasso Tech this year and completed challenges in 10 trades, including cosmetology, electrical work, plumbing and drafting, as well as leadership skills such as public speaking and job interviewing. The students participating in the leadership skills had to qualify for states through a regional competition and a trade skills demonstration where they teach the judges how to do something in their field.

While none of the Grasso students placed first in their respective categories, Jameson said 10 students were finalists and another five placed either second or third. Kelly Duarte was named state officer, and culinary student Taylor Cooley won third place in the trade-related job skills demo and second place in the job interview.

For more information about SkillsUSA, visit skillsusa.org.