Dysart High, Valley Vista and Willow Canyon students Earn Statesman Honors

Dysart High School, Valley Vista High School, and Willow Canyon High School students and staff earned Statesman awards at the SkillsUSA Camp Champion held in Williams, Arizona in November 2024.

Statesman awards honor students that demonstrate leadership abilities, personal skills, and SkillsUSA knowledge.  

Dysart High School had a total of eight students who received the AZ Statesman awards including: Abdullah Abdulsalam, Mikaela Acosta, Grace Brennan, Aiden Gouer, Zion Green, Jesus Ibarra Silva, Ian Morton, and Kenneth Stephenson. 

Additionally, Ryan Dimal, the Dysart High School SkillsUSA advisor, received the SkillsUSA Arizona Advanced Statesman award for going above the Statesman Award, and showing a mastery of understanding of SkillsUSA and Career and Technical Education.

Valley Vista High School had two students honored during the camp including Katlyn Gill who earned an AZ Statesman Award and Kaylee Clark who earned an Advanced Statesman award.

Willow Canyon High School had four students receive awards including Lily Robert who earned her AZ Statesman award and Sami Edgar, Mason Albin, Scott Russomano who earned Advanced Statesman awards. Sami, Mason, and Scott previously earned National Statesman awards at the Washington Leadership Training Institute last year.

The awards were presented at the SkillsUSA Camp Champion held November 6-8 at Lost Canyon in Williams, AZ.  The camp allowed for collaboration between SkillsUSA groups across the state, provided leadership activities and a chance to grow in knowledge of SkillsUSA. 

Kenneth Stephenson, Jacky Ruiz, Angelie Huynh, Sariah Mendoza, and Maritza Garcia from Dysart High School dedicated their entire visit to Camp Champion as volunteers in the kitchen, cooking meals and serving food to all 500 guests attending the camp. Kenneth was also recognized on stage for his strong leadership and hard work in the kitchen.

SkillsUSA is a Career and Technical Education partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. SkillsUSA provides quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development by building and reinforcing self-confidence, work attitudes and communications skills.