On Friday, Jan. 16, Lynchburg City Schools (LCS) and Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) hosted the 2026 SkillsUSA District 3 Competition, a hands-on workforce development conference providing opportunities for career and technical education (CTE) students to showcase their skills. Twenty E. C. Glass and Heritage high school students placed in the top three for their categories. Many will go on to compete in the SkillsUSA State Leadership Conference in Virginia Beach on March 9-11, 2026.
More than 100 students from LCS and Franklin, Bedford, Nelson, Pittsylvania, Patrick, and Henry counties participated. Events included carpentry, welding, computer systems technology, cybersecurity, automotive technology, cosmetology, criminal justice, and more.
“It was an honor to host the district SkillsUSA conference for the first time in 15 years. We’re grateful to the community partners who went above and beyond to help make this competition a success,” said LCS Supervisor of CTE Robbie Dooley. “LCS is proud to have provided opportunities for students across Central Virginia to showcase real-world competencies in a variety of high-demand career fields. We’re also proud of our incredible CTE students, who demonstrated remarkable professionalism and skill at this competition.”
Most events were held on CVCC’s campus. Additional events were hosted offsite by local community partners: Automotive technology at Terry Subaru, collision repair at Laslie's Auto Repair, crime scene investigation and criminal justice at the Lynchburg Police Department, and cosmetology at Heritage High School.
“We’re thrilled to serve as a host site for the SkillsUSA competition and to welcome such a talented group of students to CVCC,” said Dr. Jason Ferguson, associate vice president of professional and career studies at Central Virginia Community College. “It’s an honor to open our campus in support of events that celebrate technical skill, hands-on learning, and the next generation of talent.”
Congratulations to the following E. C. Glass High School (ECG) and Heritage High School (HHS) students, who placed in the top three in their categories at the 2026 SkillsUSA District 3 Competition:
Architectural Drafting
1st: Elizabeth Wood, ECG
2nd: Daniel Dixon, ECG
3rd: Hannah Curl, ECG
Barbering
1st: Raquelle Marshall, ECG
Cosmetology
1st: Haley Whately, ECG
2nd: Dizani Jackson, HHS
Crime Scene Investigation
1st: Tyler Turnbow, Sawyer Ness, and Kendal Patterson, ECG
Criminal Justice
1st: Janiah Williamson, ECG
3rd: James Lehrmann, HHS
Cybersecurity
3rd: Dragan Page and Misha Shatskyi, HHS
Fantasy Manikin
2nd: Alysa Parrish, ECG
Information Technology Services
1st: Weston Englund, ECG
Nail Care
1st: Josselyn Hernandez, HHS
3rd: Cassidy Payne, HHS
Natural Hair Braiding
1st: Heaven Harrington, ECG
Precision Machining Technology
1st: Dane Johnson, ECG
2nd: Samuel Webber, ECG
Technical Drafting
1st: Eleanor Herndon, ECG
2nd: Ezra Mancier, ECG
3rd: Ebubenna Ogbu, ECG
