Arlington Students Earn National Silver Medal at SkillsUSA Championships

ATLANTA, Ga. — Career Center student Ethan Eccker, a rising 12th grader, and recent Arlington Tech graduate Lauren Sproles earned a national silver medal in the Video Production competition at the 2026 SkillsUSA Championships, held during the National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta.

Representing Virginia, Eccker and Sproles placed second in the nation, competing against 40 state champion teams from across the United States. The competition took place at the Georgia World Congress Center, with results announced June 5 at State Farm Arena.

The Video Production competition challenges two-person teams to plan, shoot, and edit a 60-second video within two days. Teams are evaluated on their ability to meet the prompt while demonstrating strong storytelling, cinematography, audio production, and editing skills.

This year’s prompt required competitors to create a 60-second video advising professionals on how to remain relevant and technologically savvy in today’s workplace.

“This is an extremely difficult contest,” said Tom O’Day, television and multimedia production instructor at the Arlington Career Center. “We have competed in this event for 25 years, and it is very challenging to earn a medal because every team is a state champion.”

The national competition marked Sproles’ third appearance at SkillsUSA Nationals. O’Day credited the team’s success to their commitment to improving their shooting and editing skills throughout the year.

“I am proud of this team for continually pushing themselves to improve,” O’Day said. “Their hard work paid off, and they can proudly call themselves national silver medalists.”

Sproles will attend New York University this fall to study film, while Eccker will return to the new Grace Hopper Center to continue his studies in Television Production III. Silver Medal Piece ”Are You Ready to Adapt?”

ACC Students Earn Top-10 National Finish in Video News Competition

ACC TV Production students also earned a top-10 finish for Virginia in the SkillsUSA National Video News competition. Arlington Tech students Ula Olson, a rising 12th grader, and James Karlton, a rising 11th grader, joined Career Center students Rue Dove, a rising 12th grader, and Rebekah Knapp, a rising 12th grader, to place 10th nationally. The team competed against 23 state champion teams from across the country.

The SkillsUSA Championships feature thousands of students competing in more than 100 occupational and leadership skill areas. The annual event is held in conjunction with the National Leadership and Skills Conference, one of the nation’s largest workforce development events for students.

Founded in 1965, SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry dedicated to preparing students for career success. Through technical training, workplace readiness, and leadership development, SkillsUSA helps students build the skills employers need while addressing workforce shortages nationwide.

The Television Production program at the Arlington Career Center offers dual-enrollment college coursework in media production and features a state-of-the-art control room, television studio, and editing lab. Students also have the opportunity to earn the Adobe Certified Professional credential in Adobe Premiere Pro, the industry-standard video editing software.

For more information about the Television Production program, contact Tom O’Day at [email protected].