at the 2026 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, held June 1-5 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Courtesy photos/TSTC)
Special to the NEWS
HARLINGEN, TX—Texas State Technical College (TSTC) students, including a student from the Resaca City, earned medals in three events at the 2026 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
Students were eligible to participate in the national contest by earning gold medals at the 2026 SkillsUSA Texas Postsecondary Leadership and Skills Conference, held in April in Corpus Christi.
SkillsUSA is a professional organization focused on employability, leadership, and technical skills that help college students pursue successful careers and enter the skilled workforce. SkillsUSA hosts more than 100 contests at the state and national levels for students to compete.
Joseph Amaro of San Benito and Liana Rios of Rio Grande City earned the gold medal in the Emergency Medical Technician contest. The students are in their third semester of the Emergency Medical Services program.
The team prepared by collaborating during in-class scenarios and ride-alongs with ambulance services. Rios also built on her work as a firefighter and advanced emergency medical technician at the Mission Fire Department.
“Many of the paramedics there (at the fire department) are knowledgeable and share what they have learned,” Rios said.
Those hours of preparation and work went into a written examination, an equipment bag check, oral interviews, and scenarios such as working with a stroke patient and with a child experiencing a seizure, while working with parents.
Amaro and Rios’ teamwork marks the first time the Harlingen campus has earned a national-level medal in the Emergency Medical Technician contest.
“It was surreal to be able to represent our school and state,” Amaro said.
Rios said the experience of being on stage to receive her gold medal was unforgettable.
“That light is shining on you,” she said.
Aaliyah Duran of Harlingen earned the silver medal in the Early Childhood Education contest. The last time a TSTC Harlingen student placed nationally in the contest was in 2022, when Carina Garcia brought the gold medal back to the Rio Grande Valley.
Hailey Harris, of San Antonio and Harlingen, is in her third semester of the Wind Energy program. She earned the bronze medal in the Principles of Engineering – Technology contest. This was the first time a student from the Harlingen campus had participated in the contest.
“Hailey demonstrated tremendous determination and commitment to her presentation, continuously refining it before and after the state competition in preparation for nationals,” said Esmeralda Estrella, an instructor in TSTC’s Biomedical Equipment program and Harris’ competition advisor. “She approached every challenge with confidence and perseverance. We are incredibly proud of her hard work, which earned a state championship and a national placement.”
Harris said that beyond receiving a medal, she enjoyed learning about the ideas of her fellow competitors.
“Preparing for the contest involved extensive physics study on wind turbines and designing a display for the competition,” Harris said.
Next year’s SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference will be held June 21-25, 2027, in Atlanta.
For more information about SkillsUSA, visit skillsusa.org. For more information about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.
With multiple locations across the state, TSTC helps strengthen the Texas workforce by producing highly skilled, technically competent graduates.
Operating under a unique funding model based on student employment outcomes, the college celebrated 60 years of service to the state of Texas in 2025.