(Stanardsville, VA) Several Greene County Public Schools’ students earned top honors in competitions during this year’s Virginia State Fair. Participants and their coaches are members of Virginia Career and Technical Education Organizations including HOSA, DECA, SkillsUSA, and FFA. These organizations aim to provide opportunities for students to develop interpersonal and workplace skills while emphasizing the importance of academic excellence. The State Fair competitions are an opportunity for students to showcase various trade, technical, and leadership skills they have developed in courses at the Greene County Technical Educational Center and William Monroe High School. 

Students Paula Nolasco and Opshana Rai earned 3rd place in the Health Occupations Students of America, or HOSA, state competition. Ms. Tabitha Cole is the HOSA advisor and teaches nursing at the Greene County Technical Educational Center. 

As a team, students Lance Lemon and Jennifer Argueta earned 1st place for their role play submission in one of DECA’s competitions. Students Riley Mitchelson and Will Rawlings also competed in a DECA competition and received 1st place for their role play submission. Their coach and the organization advisor, Ms. Daphne Tynes, is a business teacher at the Greene County Technical Educational Center.

Students involved in the division’s SkillsUSA club also participated in competitions during the state fair. Students Schuyler Nitzsche and Daniel Woodson earned 1st place overall in the carpentry category. Their advisor, Mr. Thomas Mallory, is the carpentry teacher at Greene County Technical Educational Center. Students Nathan Bodin and Nick Colvin earned first place overall in the auto mechanics category under the direction of their advisor Mr. Bruce VanDyke. Mr. VanDyke is the auto mechanics teacher at the Greene County Technical Educational Center. 

Students in the division’s FFA club, Grant McDaniel and Levi McDaniel, also earned impressive recognition during the State Fair. Grant was named “Reserve Champion” and 5th in Class in the fair’s Livestock Competition category. Levi McDaniel earned 3rd place and 5th place in the same category. Their advisor, Mr. Chris Jones, teaches agriculture at William Monroe High School.