The Royal SkillsUSA Chapter competed on April 4th-6th at the SkillsUSA State Competition at multiple locations around Corpus Christi, Texas. A grand total of 43 students from Royal ISD captured awards at the competition, where over 6,000 students and over 350 CTE/high schools participated.

The Royal Arts, Audio/Video Production Department competed in Quiz Bowl. Out of 26 teams from 1A-6A schools, Royal was fourth place overall at the state contest, beating many teams in the preliminary rounds and all but three teams in the final quiz round. Team members are Gabriel Velasquez, Layla Thompson, Elisha Glover, Kimberly Pedraza, and Elizabeth Moreland. Gabriel Velasquez, for the first time in the school chapter’s history, was a state officer candidate. Although he was not voted to be a state officer finalist -- through many applications, exams, and interviews, he was selected in the top 28 officer candidates. State officers represent some 200,000 total Texas SkillsUSA members across the state.

The Royal Cosmetology Department competed in multiple Cosmetology programs that included both Live Competition and Project Exhibit. The contest included barbering, cosmetology, nail care, day and evening job exhibit, fantasy job exhibit, men's classic hair cutting job exhibit, salon job exhibit and women’s color and cut job exhibit, braiding job exhibit, flat nail art job exhibit and 3D nail art job exhibit. State winner for barbering was Kevin Izquierdo, sixth place; cosmetology was Jessica Calvilo, fifth place; and nail care was Alexa Rivas, sixth place.

Day and evening job exhibit Best of Show was won by Xitlaly Larios; first place winners were Lizmar Parra, Annabella Parada; second place winner was Yoselyn Arriaga. Fantasy job exhibit first place winners were Dulce Hernandez, Vilma Martinez, Melody Oviedo, Ariana Anaya, Esteban Carranza, Peyton Fontenot; second place winners were Marlene Melendez. Women’s color and cut first place winner was Jessica Calvillo. Men’s classic haircut job exhibit second place winners were Steven Barley and Jaiden Barley. Flat nail art Job exhibit first place winner was Maria Marin. 3D nail care job exhibit first place winner was Sarahi Sanchez. Second place winners were Dayrin Aguilar and Natali Nino Gomez. Salon job exhibit second place winner was Sandra Montalvo. Braiding job exhibit first place winners were Aydreanna Stamps and Jackyline Chavez.

Royal High School's Health Science Department excelled at the Health Science SkillsUSA State contests, showcasing their expertise in critical areas such as nurse assisting, CPR, dental assisting, and health knowledge bowl. Competing in both live and project demonstrations, students demonstrated remarkable dedication and skill, culminating in several state-level victories. Isaac Martinez, Danahe Alcanter, Daniel Hernandez, Adam Hernandez, Rebeca Arvizo, Kyla Thomas, Yessica Rodriguez, George Taylor, Ulysses Palacios, Mauricio Perez,

Sherissa Pierre, and Kaely Villafana secured first place with superior, perfect scores in their respective categories.

The Royal Welding Department had one state qualifier – Kevin Weatherford -- competing in the Welding 1 event, a two-day ALL hands-on state competition, which consisted of a hands-on project followed by an interview portion where he was interviewed and judged for his resume and overall interview presentation. On the second day of his competition, he proceeded to test online in a welding test on metallurgy, general welding, safety, oxyfuel, and several different welding processes.

The Royal Machining Department had one job exhibit entry:

● Best of Show, Miguel Hernandez, 12th grade and Eric Hernandez, 11th grade, machined a chess set made of aluminum round stock and coated with alodine.