BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal Carson High School 2008 graduates Michelle DeLarge, left, and Amanda Norman won first place in web design at the SkillsUSA competition.
Carson High School Class of 2008 graduates Michelle DeLarge and Mandy Norman added a pretty big accomplishment to their resumes last month when the duo won the Web design category at the National SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City, Mo.
"I was shocked," said Norman, who with her partner DeLarge had scored second place at last year's competition.
The two were prepared to create a Web page in the competition's five hours, but when they arrived, the rules had changed, said Web design teacher Sherri Kelley.
Instead, they had to successfully complete a series of six challenges against 31 other teams from 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
"When we first got there I thought we'd do really well, then we found out it all had changed," Norman said.
Out of 1,000 points, the two scored 855, beating the second-place team by only five points.
In addition to gold medals, each received a $10,000 scholarship to the Art Institute of San Francisco, and a $20,000 scholarship to the Art Institute of Boston. Fortunately, and coincidentally, DeLarge and Norman both plan to attend the San Francisco school to major in Web design. Norman leaves tomorrow and DeLarge will begin her studies online.
Three other Carson High School students also competed, with seniors Alejandro Arcada-Garcia taking part in the Job Interview portion and Dwight Hicks competing in Job Demonstration.
Junior Elizabeth Lewis placed 13th out of 48 in the culinary competition.
"Being a junior, she can compete again next year," said Kelley.
According to SkillsUSA.org, the competition is a showcase for the best career and technical students in the nation. Contests begin locally and continue through the state and national levels.
In 2008, there were more than 5,000 contestants in 93 separate events. Nearly 1,500 judges and contest organizers from labor and management made the national event possible.
Last year, Carson High juniors Clark Molholland and Lydia Peri took home the gold medal in the Web design category.
"To win it again, two years in a row," said Kelley, "it's just unreal."