Skills USA Team advances to Nationals
May 21, 2019
Moving on up • Juniors Alison Rashidi, Mackenna Watkins, Anushka Pradhan, and Sydney Chowdhury pose for a picture after getting first in state.
This summer juniors Mackenna Watkins, Anushka Pradhan, Sydney Chowdhury, and Alison Rashidi will be competing at Nationals on June 24-28 in Louisville, Kentucky.
“I am very excited about attending nationals,” Watkins said. “Whenever we competed at state, we hoped we would do well, but honestly didn’t expect to get 1st against 17 other teams.”
These students are working hard to prepare for nationals using their medical textbooks and quizlet.
“I personally like using quizlet the best because it allows you to play games and make flashcards to remember information,” Watkins said.
The students love to compete, but a difficult thing they face is learning the material they need to know, but they work together to get through it.
“Our team is able to compromise by discussing among each other all the choices provided and choosing the one that seems to least fit,” Pradhan said.
These four students are ready to compete, but they realize there is a learning curve.
“I feel really excited about attending nationals, because this
is my first year competing in this program,” Rashidi said. “I think we will do good based off our studying, but we aren’t sure what to expect.”
Not knowing what to expect gives them drive to be better.
“The adrenaline is so high when you compete and that is one of the best feelings,” Chowdhury said.
Skills USA has taught these students so much and will definitely help them in their future.
“Skills USA has taught me how and study with a team while being productive,” Alison said.
The team is coached by Cheyenne Kirkpatrick who said she is not surprised that these four students
are advancing to Nationals. She said they are extremely hardworking and deserve their success.
“This experience of professional dress, communication and confidence building is helping to build a wonderful future for these students,” Kirkpatrick said.
This is the second year KHS competed at Skills USA.
“We will continue to compete in this event and hopefully continue to build on our strong start,” Kirkpatrick said.