March 26, 2025
From the Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools

More than 100 students from across the Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools district participated in the 2025 SkillsUSA Ohio Leadership Conference. Eighteen students took to the podium after competing in their respective events, and five will continue to compete at Nationals.

The SkillsUSA Ohio conference was held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center on March 18-19, where a total of 110 Eastland-Fairfield students continued their run toward a state and national championship in their respective professional skills event. To qualify for SkillsUSA Nationals, an individual or team must be awarded a gold medal in their event. 

The Graphic Design program, located at Eastland Career Center, was well represented after one team and one individual earned gold medals in their respective events. In her first state conference, junior Julia Kramer (Teays Valley) took top honors in the Pin Design contest.

Eastland-Fairfield took gold and silver in the Promotional Bulletin Board team event. Seniors and defending national champions Lola Phillips (Amanda-Clearcreek), McKenna Bell (Bloom-Carroll), and Amberly Byrd (Pickerington North) earned a silver medal in this year’s competition. The junior team of Julian Stubbs (Reynoldsburg), Grace Shay (Pickerington Central), and Chloe Johnson (Groveport Madison) were crowned state champions and will advance to the national conference.

From Fairfield Career Center, senior Kyle Kougher (Amanda-Clearcreek) earned gold in the HVAC competition, marking the first student from the HVAC program to qualify for nationals in recent history.

The SkillsUSA satellite chapter also posted one national qualifier. Senior Caleb Strawser (Architecture & Construction Management, Liberty Union) won the Architectural Drafting event to punch his ticket to Nationals.

In addition to the six national qualifiers, 13 silver medals and three bronze medals were awarded to Eastland-Fairfield students. A complete list of medalists and national qualifiers is listed below.

Junior Maimouna Diallo (Pre-Nursing, Reynoldsburg) was also elected to serve as a state officer for the 2025-26 school year during the conference.

The SkillsUSA National Leadership Conference will be held June 23-27 in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference will feature entrepreneur, investor, and television personality Daymond John as its keynote speaker and host students from across the country for professional development, competitions, and networking opportunities.

About SkillsUSA

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. A nonprofit national education association, SkillsUSA serves middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary students preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations. SkillsUSA serves more than 333,527 students and instructors annually. SkillsUSA has served nearly 14 million annual members cumulatively since 1965 and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor as a successful model of employer-driven workforce development. 

Eastland Career Center Chapter (name, year, homeschool, program – competition, place) 

• Julia Kramer (Jr., Teays Valley, Graphic Design) – Pin Design, GOLD ^
• Julian Stubbs (Jr., Reynoldsburg, Graphic Design), Grace Shay (Jr., Pickerington Central, Graphic Design), and Chloe Johnson (Jr., Groveport Madison, Graphic Design) – Promotional Bulletin Board, GOLD ^
• Lola Phillips (Sr., Amanda-Clearcreek, Graphic Design), McKenna Bell (Sr., Bloom-Carroll, Graphic Design), and Amberly Byrd (Sr., Pickerington North) – Promotional Bulletin Board, SILVER
• Arheema Subedi (Jr., Gahanna Lincoln, Pre-Dental), Irelynn McGuire (Jr., Fairfield Union, Pre-Dental), Felicien Kalonda Mubadibantu (Jr., Canal Winchester, Pre-Dental), and Mia Ramirez (Jr., Gahanna Lincoln, Pre-Dental) – Entrepreneurship Team, SILVER
• Jason Miller (Jr., Groveport Madison, Graphic Design) – Pin Design, SILVER
• Taylor Holbrook (Sr., Pickerington Central, Graphic Design) – Advertising Design, SILVER
• Rebecca Byler (Sr., Groveport Madison, Pre-Dental) – Dental Assisting, BRONZE

Fairfield Career Center Chapter (name, year, homeschool, program – competition, place) 

• Kyle Kougher (Sr., Amanda-Clearcreek, HVAC) – HVAC, GOLD ^
• Akosua Aboagye (Sr., Groveport Madison, Pharmacy) – Medical Math, SILVER
• Kate Richey (Jr., Canal Winchester, Criminal Justice) – Job Interview, SILVER
• Zoe Fisher (Jr., Homeschooled, Cosmetology) – Job Demonstration A, SILVER

Satellite Chapter (name, year, homeschool, program – competition, place) 

• Caleb Strawser (Sr., Liberty Union, Architecture & Construction Management) – Architectural Drafting, GOLD ^
• Ornob Amin (Sr., New Albany, Cyber Security) – Related Technical Math, SILVER
• Adib Salam (Sr., New Albany, Cyber Security) and Samantha Robles (Sr., Gahanna Lincoln, Cyber Security) – Cybersecurity, BRONZE
• Murali Pichhika (Sr., New Albany, Cyber Security) – IT Services, 5th place
• Arkie Mapunda (Sr., Gahanna Lincoln, Architecture & Construction Management) – Extemporaneous Speaking, 6th place

^ indicates the student(s) have qualified to compete at SkillsUSA Nationals

About Eastland-Fairfield
Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools is the seventh-largest career and technical education district, geographically, in the State of Ohio. We serve more than 5,000 students in 16 school districts throughout Franklin, Fairfield and Pickaway counties. Eastland-Fairfield provides more than 35 high school and adult training programs that enroll more than 1,700 students. The district has two main campuses — Eastland Career Center in Groveport and Fairfield Career Center in Carroll, four satellite locations, and middle school programming housed in 10 different middle schools around the EFCTS district. Eastland-Fairfield also partners with various businesses to provide students career advancement through specific programming or experiences.

Founded in 1969, Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools’ mission is to engage, enrich, and equip students every day in every experience. We prepare students to pursue their life’s next E: Employment, Enlistment, Entrepreneurship, and/or additional Education. Visit us online at www.eastlandfairfield.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn for regular updates, fun content and information.