Chattahoochee Tech students competed at the 2025 SkillsUSA Georgia competition held recently in Atlanta, with a gold medal winner advancing to the national competition.
Maria Luiza Morais Macedo da Rocha, a student in the college’s Electrical & Computer Engineering Technology program, earned a gold medal in Electronics Technology. Chattahoochee Tech student Russell Puffer placed fourth in Aviation Maintenance Technology. Chattahoochee Tech Dual Enrollment student Larry Reyes earned a second-place finish in the HVAC competition. He is taking Air Conditioning Technology classes at the Cobb Innovation and Technology Academy (CITA).
“The SkillsUSA competition provides students with an opportunity to showcase and refine their industry-standard skills,” said Jason Tanner, Executive Vice President for Instruction at Chattahoochee Tech. “We are incredibly proud of how well our students represented the college. I would also like to thank our instructors for their dedication in preparing students for the competition and supporting them throughout these events. The success of our students is a direct reflection of our exceptional faculty.”
Dr. Alan Kazemian, Chattahoochee Tech’s lead instructor for Industrial Maintenance, served as the students’ advisor at the competition, along with John Martin, an adjunct instructor for Air Conditioning Technology, who also teaches at CITA.
The 2025 SkillsUSA Georgia competition was held Feb 20-22, 2025 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. It featured 154 career competition events for over 3,000 student competitors. The competitions were created, overseen, and judged by hundreds of industry volunteers. SkillsUSA is a national, nonprofit organization representing a dynamic partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to build a skilled workforce.
