Students of Passaic County Technical Institute (PCTI) showcased talent and skill when they competed against vocational students throughout New Jersey at the SkillsUSA State Competition. PCTI championed the value of hard work and determination, which paid off when their students brought home fifteen medals, two of which were first place awards!
Ruth Basta of the School Education and Human Services and Yousef Khalil of Electronics Technology both took home the gold, making them eligible to compete at Nationals! Silver medal recipients include Bryan Pinos (Additive Manufacturing), Tahmina Shila, Heritage Palmer, & Salma Aburomi (Crime Scene Investigation), Danny Habal (Auto Maintenance), and Harsh Rana & Shawn Wahi (Mobile Robotics Technology). Bronze medalists are Jonathan Safer (Ornamental Iron Design), Hunter Ziegler (Mobile Electronics Installation), Pedro Mena (Computer Programming), Anhar Uddin (Information Technology Services),and Dibya Dey & Sharia Hussain (Web Design).
In addition to these high caliber wins, PCTI’s Advisory team received the Gold Chapter of Distinction award, the highest honor any chapter is eligible to receive! The accolade is based on student participation in community service, leadership training, and life skills preparation.
PCTI SkillsUSA competitors Salma Aburomi (Woodland Park), Ruth Basta (Clifton), Dibya Day (Paterson) Danny Habal (Clifton), Sharia Hussain (Paterson), Youself Khalil (Paterson), Heritage Palmer (Paterson), Brandon Pinos (Hawthorne), Harsh Rana (Clifton), Tahmina Shila (Paterson), Anhar Uddin (Paterson), and Shawn Wahi (Wanaque) their state wins.
PCTI SkillsUSA Advisors Tom Bove (Andover Township, left) and Geralyn Hunter (Newark, right) join Officers James Pettibone (Pompton Lakes), Jordan Polansky (Ringwood), Kelly Cha (Clifton), Renee Angello (Wayne), Lourdes G. Monzon Olivares (Paterson), Amelia Roopnarine (Ringwood), and Jordan Polansky (Ringwood) celebrate their Gold Chapter of Distinction Award – the highest honor any SkillsUSA chapter is eligible to receive! (not pictured: Casey Cruz, Paterson)