Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School (SCVTHS) students recently competed in the 2025 SkillsUSA New Jersey State Championships. Out of 161 students from SCVTHS, 79 earned medals—34 gold, 29 silver, and 16 bronze. This strong performance shows the high level of training students receive at SCVTHS across different technical and leadership fields.
The standout achievement came in the Health Occupations Professional Portfolio competition, where SCVTHS students claimed all three top spots. Alejandro Karako from Bridgewater Township won gold, Melissa Gallegos from Bridgewater took silver, and Matthew Boyce from Hillsborough earned bronze.
Because of their outstanding performance, the gold medalists now have the opportunity to compete at the national level. In June 2025, they will travel to Atlanta, Georgia, for the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC). This event brings together more than 6,000 students from across the country who will compete in over 100 different fields, from trade and technical skills to leadership. Industry trade associations and labor organizations help organize the contests.
Among the gold medal winners were Malavika Malanthara, Pranavi Prayaga, and Shagun Srivastava, who each won in the Career Pathways Health Sciences category. Christian Hudak from Bridgewater claimed gold in Plumbing, while Meghan Hanlon from South Bound Brook took gold in Ironworks Ornamental Design. Treesa Joby from Hillsborough earned gold for her Job Skill Demo Open presentation.
In addition to gold medals, SCVTHS students earned several silver medals. Shreya Patro from Branchburg, Kushi Rao from Hillsborough, and Saanvi Trivedi from Hillsborough earned silver in the American Spirit competition. Mark Casique from Bound Brook and Armando Rodriguez from North Plainfield earned silver in Cybersecurity. Aarika Patel and Guhan Venkatachalapathi from Skillman, Krishay Patel from Hillsborough, and Koushik Swarna from Belle Mead earned silver in Entrepreneurship.
Hillsborough students were responsible for 25% of the medals won by SCVTHS. They earned 9 golds, 6 silvers, and 5 bronzes, including a Criminal Justice Quiz Bowl gold by Maria Imhauser, Erik Pasewaldt, Rick Porcelli, and Laasya Telampudi. Max Chen, Siyaa Choudhary, Vihaan Iyer, and Veydaant Ravi won gold in the Health Knowledge Bowl.
SCVTHS also earned 16 bronze medals. Ryan McClain from Bridgewater won bronze in Basic Residential Wiring, and Alexa Santamaria, Henrique Santos, and Merrin Vespucci Paxson earned bronze in Crime Scene Investigation. Other bronze winners included Syna Singla from Hillsborough, who competed in First Aid/CPR, and Rocco Barras from Manville, who participated in Welding Fabrication.
