CCSD Students Succeed at Career Competitions, Advance to Nationals

Cherokee County School District students have earned top honors at statewide and regional career competitions with students advancing to national contests this summer!  

Through Career and Technical Student Organizations, students expand their classroom Career Pathway program learning by participating in after-school and weekend activities like conferences, competitions and community service.  Our School Board is laser focused on ensuring our students are learning more, growing more, and achieving more in our classrooms than they could anywhere else.

CTI: Career and Technical Instruction
Creekview, Etowah and Woodstock High School students earned honors at the Georgia CTI (Career and Technical Instruction) state competition!
Creekview HS seniors Jessa Bredemann and Dharshan Comeaux earned the CTI Outstanding Senior Scholarship.  Etowah HS senior Israel Delgado Mayo and Woodstock HS Caroline Coxworth junior both earned second place awards in the Catering/Table Setting competition.

DECA
Students from Creekview, River Ridge and Sequoyah High Schools earned state honors in DECA student marketing, management and entrepreneurship association competitions qualifying them for the recently held International Career Development Conference competition!

Creekview High School
Congratulations to Creekview HS students who earned overall finalist awards at the international conference: the Sales Project team of seniors Amelia Babcock and Kinsley Carlson, and 11th-grader Lauren Hamm!  Career Pathway marketing teacher Ashley Jones is the chapter’s sponsor.

River Ridge High School
Congratulations to River Ridge HS 11th-grader Tyler Stacey for earning an overall finalist award in Sports and Entertainment Marketing - Team Decision Making at the international conference!  Career Pathway marketing teacher Krista Duke is the chapter’s sponsor.

Sequoyah High School
Eight Sequoyah HS students achieved the Award of Excellence at the conference!  Students must earn a score of 70% or higher on Exam, Role Play, Written, or Presentation to earn this honor.
Congratulations to senior Eleni Giannopoulos for Professional Selling, also earned Top 10 in Exam; 11th-grader Anne Haymond for Financial Literacy Project; 11th-grader Sebastian Hornsby for Innovation Plan; senior Abagail Hude for Retail Merchandising Series; 10th-grader Evan Jones for Innovation Plan; 11th-grader Ian Lightcap for Business Services Marketing Series; senior Charles Miller for Financial Literacy Project; and 11th-grader Beatriz Roca-Garcia for Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series.
Career Pathway marketing teacher Chana Miller is the chapter’s sponsor.

FCCLA: Family, Career and Community Leaders of America
Congratulations to Cherokee High School FCCLA members on their success at the FCCLA State Competition!
Three students are advancing to the national competition this summer in Washington, D.C.: senior Bailey German, who earned first place at the state competition in Leadership; 11th-grader Alaina Emmett, who earned second place in Career Investigation; and ninth-grader, Daniela Ramos-Ramirez, who earned third place in Job Interview.
More chapter members also earned Top 10 honors at state: 10th-grader Clare Swick, third place, Nutrition & Wellness; 10th-grader Jillian Waterman, fifth place, Sports Nutrition; and 11th-grader Yandel Jarquin-Ramos, eighth place, Job Interview.  Their team sponsor is Kym McCrary, Career Pathway teacher for family and consumer sciences.

FFA
Cherokee, Creekview and Etowah High School students earned honors at the 2026 State FFA Convention and Expo recognizing their agriculture, science, business, and technology skills.

Cherokee High School 
Cherokee High’s earned the Gold Emblem National Chapter Award, the highest recognition awarded, and second place in the state for its National FFA Week Observance Book. The National Chapter Award Program recognizes chapters that create meaningful, student-led experiences that grow leaders, build communities, and strengthen agriculture.
Congratulations to State FFA Degree Recipient, senior Lindsay Rubio-Garcia!
Career Pathway agriculture teacher Dr. Lindsey Garner serves as the chapter sponsor.

Creekview High School
Creekview’s chapter earned the 2026 Area 1 Award and Gold Emblem National Chapter Award, the highest recognition awarded. The National Chapter Award Program recognizes chapters that create meaningful, student-led experiences that grow leaders, build communities, and strengthen agriculture. Chapter officers are: senior Kallie Reynolds – a State Officer Candidate, senior Nolan Hendrix, senior Sarah Hill, 11th-grader Ava Lindner, senior Lucy Phillips, and 10th-grader Mary Kate Sutton.  Kallie also was recognized for earning a Washington Leadership Conference scholarship and will attend the FFA National Conference this summer! 
Congratulations State FFA Degree Recipients: senior Claire Arledge, 11th-grader MacKenzie Bearden, 11th-grader Tripp Clark, 11th-grader Brandon Gayton, 11th-grader Natalie Giannini, senior Nolan Hendrix, 11th-grader Chloe Hiett, 11th-grader Ava Lindner, senior Madyson McClendon, 11th-grader Amaya Nebel, and 11th-grader Cailyn Toney!
Claire also competed in the Agriculture Education Leadership Development Event, earning first in the sub-area contest and third in the finals and receiving a perfect lesson plan score. Ninth-grader Riley Hall competed in Creed Speaking and placed third in her bracket.
The chapter’s Poultry Evaluation Team placed eighth overall in the area, and senior Ava Hart placed in the Top 20 individually!  Team members are Ava, senior Kiersten Barton, 10th-grader Avery McCall, and senior Ansleigh Tomlin.
Career Pathway agriculture teachers Chloe Lynch and Wyatt Wilkie serve as the chapter’s sponsors.

Etowah High School
Etowah’s chapter earned a Bronze Emblem National Chapter Award for its National Chapter Application.  The National Chapter Award Program recognizes chapters that create meaningful, student-led experiences that grow leaders, build communities, and strengthen agriculture.  Chapter officers are: 10th-grader Skyler Castens, 11th-grader Hannah Clark, 11th-grader Abbey Collins, 10th-grader Katie Esters, senior Alexa Guleksen, 10th-grader Stephen Kim, 11th-grader Sophie Naliwajka, and 11th-grader Maddie Peters.
Career Pathway agriculture teacher Dr. Ashley Rivers serves as the chapter’s sponsor.

FIRST Robotics
Sequoyah High School’s robotics earned third place in the state at the Georgia FIRST Robotics state competition! 
Two members, 11th-graders Natalie Pereira and Dahlen Roth, were named State FIRST Leadership Award Semi-Finalists and Natalie was selected as a FIRST Robotics Peachtree District CTSO officer for next school year!
The team qualified for state competition by earning third place at the regional qualifying event at which they also earned the Rising All-Star Award for significant growth in student members and improvement in performance.  Science teacher Brenda Beebe serves as the team sponsor.

SkillsUSA
The Cherokee High School SkillsUSA Chapter earned state honors at the Georgia State Leadership & Skills Conference!

Congratulations to 10th-grader Owen Elrod for earning the Silver Medal in Cabinetmaking; 10th-graders Sam Estes, Kaya Griffin, Abi Haywood, and Reece Holloway for earning the Silver Medal in Short Film; and senior Noe Perez Bautista, 11th-grader Hayden Phillips, and senior Josue Reyes Delgado for earning the Bronze Medal in Welding Fabrication.
Their Career Pathway teachers are Bobby Wiggins for carpentry and construction, Josh Sims for audio/video technology and film, and Darryl Jones for welding.

#CCSDElevateTheExcellence