A recent graduate of the Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Health Science Careers program and Herkimer Central School District finished off her final year of high school by placing sixth in the nation at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta.
Zoey Caldwell first won the state championship in the SkillsUSA Basic Healthcare Skills competition during the SkillsUSA New York State Leadership and Skills Conference from April 24-26 at the Syracuse Fairgrounds. Then, she won sixth place during the national event from June 24-28 in Atlanta, where she also won a Skill Point Certificate awarded to students who don’t place in the top three but do score above a national threshold for excellence in a competition.
“Sixth in the country is quite an accomplishment,” said Holly Rotundo Fischer, who is Caldwell’s mother, co-advisor of the Herkimer BOCES SkillsUSA chapter and instructor of the Herkimer BOCES Cosmetology program. “She worked really hard to prepare for this competition. She had to win first place at states to get there, so she represented Herkimer BOCES, Herkimer High School and New York State SkillsUSA in the national competition.”
Caldwell competed in the national Basic Healthcare Skills event at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Her competition included many aspects such as performing CPR, labeling anatomy and physiology, participating in an interview portion and completing written sections on professional development and health career skills knowledge.
Following up from what she learned in the Herkimer BOCES Health Science Careers program, Caldwell will be attending Le Moyne College this year for the biological sciences program and then will continue on toward her goal of becoming a physician’s assistant.
This marked the third year in a row that Herkimer BOCES had at least one SkillsUSA state champion and national conference competitor.
In 2022, Herkimer BOCES Visual Communications and Media Arts students Tracy Palmieri, of Central Valley Central School District; Delaney Kerr, of Frankfort-Schuyler Central School District, and Savannah Dennis, of Herkimer Central School District, teamed up to win the state championship and then placed sixth at the national conference in the Promotional Bulletin Board competition.
In 2023, Herkimer BOCES Visual Communications and Media Arts students Madison Battisti, of Little Falls City School District; Jolene Manipole, of Poland Central School District, and Corey Wohler, of Frankfort-Schuyler Central School District, teamed up to win both the state championship and national championship in the Promotional Bulletin Board competition.
Also in 2023, Herkimer BOCES Cosmetology student McKenzie Schuster, of West Canada Valley Central School District, won the state championship and then placed in the top 10 in the nation in the Customer Service competition.
“We’ve been three years in a row,” Fischer said. “We’re hoping to continue having quality programs with students who are learning and really showing their skills.”
Zoey Caldwell, who graduated from the Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Health Science Careers program and Herkimer Central School District in June, poses for a photo during the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in June in Atlanta. Caldwell won the state championship and placed sixth in the nation in the SkillsUSA Basic Healthcare Skills competition.