Two Manatee Technical College students placed first in the nation in two career and technical student organization competitions - one national, one international.
Jesus Capriles won first place in Dental Terminology in the collegiate division at the 2022 HOSA International Leadership Conference in Nashville, June 22-25.
Vincent Manzano won first in the nation in 5-Axis CNC Milling in the college division of the 2022 SkillsUSA National Championships in Atlanta, June 20-25. Part of his prize was $5,000 from HAAS Automation, Inc., who sponsored the contest.
Also competing at the SkillsUSA Championships, Carlos Suarez and Sarah Granados both placed in the top five in the nation. Carlos competed in college-division Barbering, and Sarah competed in college-division Early Childhood Education.
Capriles and Manzano both overcame obstacles to succeed in winning national medals. English is Capriles’ second language, only having come to the U.S. a few years before. He was competing against university students, as well as college students.
Manzano only had 600 hours of training in CNC when he competed, and all his practice on the 5-axis mill was on a simulator. Despite this, he succeeded in surpassing last year’s second-place winner, who came in second again.