Photo: Wallace State’s Crime Scene Investigation team consists of, from left, Melissa Kilpatrick, Micah Oliver and Anthony Martin. Instructor Thea Hall accompanied the group to the national event.
HANCEVILLE – In only its second year of competition, Wallace State’s Criminal Justice Department returned home earlier this week with a SkillsUSA silver medal, finishing runner-up at the 52nd annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
Wallace State’s Crime Scene Investigation team of Melissa Kilpatrick, Anthony Martin and Micah Oliver earned a national medal for the college for the second time in three years.
“All of our hard work definitely paid off in the end. It was such a great and satisfying feeling when I heard our names mentioned as one of the best. I can’t say it was unexpected because I know how hard we worked. It was rewarding to hear (instructor) Thea Hall scream with excitement when our name was called,” said Kilpatrick, a recent Wallace State graduate in criminal justice, law enforcement and criminalistics. “We made a huge improvement from our first year to our second years at nationals. I’m excited to see where the program can go next year with even more knowledge and experience.”
Wallace State had a record 15 students finish first in their respective SkillsUSA state events in May and had a strong contingent competing in Louisville.
Kilpatrick represented Wallace State’s Criminal Justice Department at the national event for the second year in a row, while Martin and Oliver made their first appearance. Kilpatrick, 27, is from Oneonta, Oliver, 25, is from Sumiton and Martin, 32, from Leeds.
Wallace State’s Criminal Justice team proved its worth at nationals by having an allotted 45 minutes to effectively solve a crime scene. The team also had to receive high scores on two written tests and was required to effectively answer crime-scene related questions in front of a panel of judges.
“I’m so proud of our team. They have the capabilities and means to do anything they want in life, and I’m glad to be a part of their experience. They devoted themselves to me and to Wallace State throughout this process,” said Wallace State Criminal Justice instructor Thea Hall. “I would put these students up against anyone. They are competitors and have represented our program and Wallace State so admirably. I’m honored and humbled we’ve been able to do so.”
As any successful group, Wallace State’s Crime Scene Investigation team split up its duties and responsibilities during its hours of preparation for the state and national competitions. As they practiced on many crime scene scenarios, Kilpatrick specifically worked on measuring and collecting evidence, Oliver worked on sketches and Martin focused on fingerprints at a scene along with photography.
“The important thing is we had each other’s back. We all have certain strengths, but the main thing is we were constantly ready to chip in to make sure had everything covered,” Kilpatrick said.
By encouragement last year from Jimmy Hodges, Wallace State’s dean of Applied Technologies, Hall and the college’s Criminal Justice Department entered the SkillsUSA fray for the first time, becoming one of the college’s first non-technical division programs to compete in the event.
The Criminal Justice Department won the state gold medal during its inaugural competition in 2015 and repeated this year. The crime scene set up this year at the state competition involved solving a domestic disturbance case. Last year, the crime scene was a double homicide. Students were required to photograph, measure, sketch, collect evidence and process a mock crime scene during the competition.
Similar competitions were conducted over the last two national events.
After being part of the Wallace State Criminal Justice team to finish ninth in the nation last year, Kilpatrick and her teammates made sure they were better prepared during the second go-around. Both Hall and Kilpatrick said the team practiced diligently since last October, dedicating four or five hours each week specifically for SkillsUSA purposes.
Wallace State President Doctor Vicki Karolewics and Hodges allowed the Criminal Justice team to set up mock crime scenes in a building on campus.
“We appreciated all the support to help us reach our goal. All three of us have families and balance our family lives with our school work and jobs, so it was impressive we found the time to practice as much as we did.” Kilpatrick said. “We wanted to put in the hard work though. We had a better idea of what to expect this year and made sure we put in the proper hours necessary.”
Hall is thankful her students have been able to grow professionally through the SkillsUSA events and is excited about future competitions.
“I was tickled when Dean (Jimmy) Hodges asked us to participate last year. I didn’t know much about it initially, but I’m so glad it’s allowed us to be a small part of something big. The entire experience is awesome, and I’m thinking about how we can do even better next year. We love the competition,” Hall said.
Prior to this year’s silver medal, James Foster (welding) and Vincent Ponder (precision machining) each finished third in the nation in 2014, earning bronze medals for Wallace State. Joey Foster (2009) and Matthew O’Neal (2003) are previous SkillsUSA national champions for Wallace State.
SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, including health occupations. SkillsUSA serves more than 300,000 students and instructors annually. The organization has 13,000 school chapters in 54 state and territorial associations.
For more information about Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu.
