Pennsylvania College of Technology building construction technology students earned gold medals in the TeamWorks competition at the national SkillUSA Championships, held in Atlanta in June. From left: Sam J. Thornton, of Havertown; Kane S. Wright, of Williamsport; Owen W. Brackbill, of Doylestown; and Kole L. Fries, of Honesdale. (Photo Credit: SkillsUSA)
Bringing home gold for Penn College were:
The TeamWorks team of Owen W. Brackbill, of Doylestown, who completed an associate degree in building construction technology and is pursuing additional degrees in concrete science technology and residential construction technology & management; Kane S. Wright, of Williamsport, who completed a degree in building construction technology and is pursuing a degree in emergency management & homeland security; Kole L. Fries, of Honesdale, who graduated in May in building construction technology; and Sam J. Thornton, of Havertown, who holds a degree in building construction technology and is pursuing degrees in concrete science technology and residential construction technology & management.
In the TeamWorks competition, teams of four students work together to build a construction project over two days to demonstrate their ability to work as a team.
Richard T. Markle (third from left), a Pennsylvania College of Technology student from Spring Mills, earned a gold medal in technical drafting at the 2025 SkillsUSA Championships. Markle, who earned a bachelor’s in engineering design technology from the college in May, is among eight Penn College students in three categories who earned gold at the event, where 6,800 high school and college students competed in 114 categories. (Photo Credit: SkillsUSA)
- Technical Drafting competitor Richard T. Markle, of Spring Mills, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s in engineering design technology.
- The Welding Fabrication team of Clayton J. Fegley, of McClure; Tyler C. Martin, of Selinsgrove; and Samuel R. Laudenslager, of Middleburg. Fegley is pursuing a bachelor’s in welding & fabrication engineering technology. Martin and Laudenslager completed the same degree in May.
Pennsylvania College of Technology welding & fabrication engineering technology students (from left) Clayton J. Fegley, of McClure; Tyler C. Martin, of Selinsgrove; and Samuel R. Laudenslager, of Middleburg, earned gold in the welding fabrication competition at the national SkillsUSA Championships. (Photo Credit: SkillsUSA)
The SkillsUSA Championships are the highlight of SkillsUSA’s National Leadership and Skills Conference. More than 18,000 students, teachers, education leaders, and representatives from 850 national corporations, trade associations, businesses and labor unions participate in the annual conference.
In all, 15 Penn College students earned gold at SkillsUSA Pennsylvania and competed at the national event in nine categories.
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of students, teachers and industry that serves middle school, high school and college/postsecondary students preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations.
For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.
