SkillsUSA, one of the nation’s leading organizations for workforce skills development, held its annual Southwest Regional Advertising Design Competition today at The Modern College of Design. This is the sixteenth year The Modern has hosted the event.

Around 50 high school students, teachers, parents, and community members attended the live event. Competitors were selected by their high schools. In a four-hour period, students were assigned a topic and required to design a logo, poster, and digital design around the topic. Two current 3rd-year students from The Modern, Logan Hill, and Shelby Miller helped judge the competition. The Modern’s, Cait McCurdy developed the contest and facilitated the event.

The high school student winners advancing to the SkillsUSA Advertising Design State Competition are: (1st place) Elly Coe from Greene County Career Center, (2nd place) Lauren Patchett from Kettering Fairmont High School, and (3rd place) Alexis Hayden from Springfield Clark Career and Technical Center. The 1st place winner receives a $2,000 scholarship to The Modern, awarded upon acceptance into the program.

“When SkillsUSA asks us to host this competition, we are honored” states Jessica Barry, president of The Modern. “It’s a beneficial exercise for emerging designers and allows these students to be recognized and receive scholarships to continue their education and pursue their dreams.”