Calhoun Students Sweep Statewide Competition Bringing Home Over 75 Medals And Top Honors

Calhoun Community College is proud to celebrate an extraordinary performance at the 2025 SkillsUSA Alabama State Leadership and Skills Conference in Mobile, where students brought home an impressive 76 medals and multiple chapter awards.
 
A total of 96 students competed in 37 different events, showcasing their technical skill, leadership, and career readiness. Their efforts earned 35 Gold, 25 Silver, and 16 Bronze medals, propelling Calhoun to one of the top-performing colleges in the state.
 
In addition to individual medals, Calhoun was honored with the 2025 Highest College Participation Award, the 2024-2025 Highest College Membership Award, and received recognition as the largest SkillsUSA chapter in Alabama. The college’s chapter also earned the prestigious Silver Chapter of Distinction Award.
 
“This event is more than just a competition; it’s a launchpad for future careers,” said Kelli Morris, Director of Career Services and Cooperative Learning at Calhoun. “Our students have worked incredibly hard and proven that they’re ready to lead in their industries. Their success is a direct reflection of the support they receive from our faculty, advisors, and staff, who are deeply committed to preparing them for both workforce excellence and lifelong achievement,” adds Morris.
 
A standout moment during the competition came when Calhoun President Dr. Jimmy Hodges presented a special award to Fine Arts student Ves Haynes, whose artwork won a student design competition for Calhoun’s official trading pin for Nationals.
 
Trading pins are a beloved tradition at the National SkillsUSA Conference with every state, and even participating businesses and industries, bringing unique pins to exchange. This year, as Calhoun prepared to attend Nationals as a vendor, the college hosted an internal student competition to design a commemorative pin. Ves’ winning pin design will represent the college in Atlanta this June, proudly carried by Calhoun’s SkillsUSA team.
 
“Our students continue to raise the bar,” said Dr. Hodges. “From medals and chapter awards to being selected as the top college in the state for participation and membership, I couldn’t be more proud. We are excited to support our gold medalists as they advance to the National SkillsUSA Championships in Atlanta this summer.”
 
To learn more about Calhoun programs and how you can join the college’s SkillsUSA team, visit www.calhoun.edu/technologies.
 
All media inquiries should contact Calhoun’s Public Relations team at 256-306-2560 or 256-306-2965.
 
 
About SkillsUSA
Representing nearly 400,000 career and technical education students and teachers, SkillsUSA chapters thrive in middle schools, high schools and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide. Our mission is accomplished through the SkillsUSA Framework of Personal Skills, Workplace Skills and Technical Skills Grounded in Academics, which is integrated into classroom curriculum.
 
Through the Framework, SkillsUSA students hone their hands-on skills against current industry standards in more than 130 occupational areas, from 3-D Animation to Welding and nearly everything in between. At the same time, they develop the transformative career-readiness skills — teamwork, communication, professionalism, leadership and more — that fuel career and life success.
 
A vital solution to the ongoing skills gap, where more highly skilled jobs are available than skilled professionals ready to fill them, SkillsUSA has served more than 14.6 million diverse, difference-making members since 1965.