Search | Menu Students medal at national SkillUSA competition
Madison College students showcased their talents at the 58th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC).
Eleven Madison college students went head-to-head, competing in nine competitions of their chosen leadership or skill career cluster. With 6,880 middle school, high school, and post-secondary participants in 114 different leadership, occupational, and skilled competitions, this year's event proved to be an incredible success for Madison College.
Competition results
Auto Collision student Jeremy Radke earned a bronze medal in Automotive Refinishing Technology. He qualifies to represent the USA in the WorldSkills competition in Shanghai, China, in 2026. (Advisor, Aaron Stroot).
Baking & Decorative Arts student Aric Anderson was the first Wisconsin post-secondary student to ever compete in Baking & Pastry Arts at a national level. Aric earned 15th best in the nation. (Advisor, Suzanne Daly).
Cosmetology student Gray Buchanan earned 9th best in the nation competing in Cosmetology. (Advisor, Melissa Brainerd).
Diesel student Ben Strupp brought home the silver medal as 2nd best in the nation in Diesel Equipment Technology. Ben also qualifies to represent the USA in the WorldSkills competition in Shanghai, China in 2026. (Advisor, Aron Kershaw).
Mechanical Design student and SkillsUSA-WI State Vice President Emma Schwantes brought home the silver medal as 2nd best in the nation in Pin Design. Emma also led our officer team during leverage training, C/PS business meetings, and delegates' sessions while in Atlanta. (Advisor, Jon Helt).
Culinary Arts student Javier Sanchez was the first Madison College student to compete in the Culinary Arts. Javier earned 8th place in the nation, competing against top culinary schools, such as the Culinary Institute of America. (Advisor, Irene Pawlisch).
Automotive Technology student and SkillsUSA-WI State Secretary Adalie Balster earned 12th best in the nation in Extemporaneous Speaking. Adalie also represented SkillsUSA-WI in Leverage training, SkillsUSA C/PS business meetings, and delegates sessions. She helped elect the newly-installed SkillsUSA C/PS National officers (Advisor, Craig Lathrop).
Mechanical Design student Broderick Miller took 13th in Technical Drafting (Advisor, Jon Helt).
Metal Fabrication students Nick Acierno, Luke Gratz, and Logan Hardyman took bronze medals in Welding Fabrication.
They were the first team to bring back medals for SkillsUSA Wisconsin College Post-secondary (C/PS) in this competition. The previous top Wisconsin C/PS placement was 4th. (Advisor & Coach, Jon Christian)(Co-advisor, Al Weishoff).
Graphic design student Dani Casperson represented SkillsUSA-WI in Leverage training, SkillsUSA C/PS business meetings, and delegates' sessions. She helped elect the newly-installed SkillsUSA C/PS National officers (Advisor, Aron Kershaw).
