Students from the SkillsUSA chapter at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies brought home top honors from the 2026 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference held in Atlanta beginning June 16.
The national conference drew more than 19,000 attendees from across the country, including more than 2,000 industry professionals, providing students with opportunities to compete, network and develop career-ready skills.
The Center sent 25 students to compete in 15 different events. Fifteen students earned Top 10 finishes in their respective competitions, while five students won national medals across three events.
In addition to the individual achievements, The Center’s SkillsUSA chapter was recognized as a National Model of Excellence for the sixth time in seven years, placing it among the nation’s top 24 chapters out of more than 5,000 SkillsUSA chapters nationwide.
National award winners included:
- First Place: Harper Chapman, Prepared Speech (Middle School)
- Second Place: Richard Haines, Anna Halligan and Bailey Lunsford, Occupational Health and Safety
- Third Place: Graham Thompson, Career and Technical Educator
- National Model of Excellence Student Representatives: Parsons Harper and Famke Steiert
The accomplishments continue an impressive streak for the district, marking the sixth consecutive year that The Center’s SkillsUSA chapter has produced national medalists. Harper Chapman also made history as the first middle school student from School District Five to win a SkillsUSA national championship and earn a national medal.
“We continue to find success at the local, state, and national level as individuals and as an entire chapter thanks to the hard work of these students, teachers, and administration,” said lead advisor Joseph Chapman. “SkillsUSA has not only become an extremely important piece of Career and Technical Education in our district but has become part of our community and local industry. Each year, we challenge our students to build off of the previous year and find new, innovative ways to grow our community, grow themselves, and pave the way for those to follow. We are extremely proud that they consistently rise to the challenge and represent us all with pride.”
Of the national medalists, all graduated in June except Graham Thompson, who will return as a senior in the Culinary Arts program at Spring Hill High School, and Harper Chapman, who will enter seventh grade at Spring Hill Middle School this fall.
