School News

Congratulations to Eastlake North High School's Clare Davey who led the 2026 Excel TECC Team at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference. As a senior in the CADD Engineering Program, she also served as Team Captain and National Leadership Conference Delegate.

The Excel TECC team had two competition teams, also hailing from the CADD Engineering Technology program, directed by Instructor Craig Schmidt. It made for a powerful and supportive environment that tested the skills, leadership and workforce readiness that comprises the framework of the program.

 

Congratulations to our North and South Excel TECC students who competed at the Ohio SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Championship (SLSC).

The following students deserve special recognition for earning their medals at the competition:

Silver

Noah Scanlon, South – Career Pathways Showcase – Human Services

Edward Kovach-Uzl, North – Engineering Technology/Design Team N

Bronze

Damien Konchan, South – Career Pathway Showcase – Business & Technology

Isaac Mills, North - Career Pathway Showcase – Business & Technology

Anna Cortes, North – EMT

Matthew Halbrook, North – Engineering Technology/Design Team P

This was the largest group that has attended the state competition, showcasing the strength, diversity, and depth of Excel TECC’s career-technical programs. 

 

Some of our Career Capstone students recently participated in Experience Lakeland Day at Lakeland Community College.

This event gave students the chance to explore college programs, connect with future opportunities, and start thinking about the next steps in turning their passions into purpose. Experiences like this help students see how the interests they’re developing today can lead to meaningful careers tomorrow!

 

We are thrilled to share a major achievement coming out of the NCI/Excel TECC program here at our Willoughby-Eastlake campus.

Taeho (Owen) Lim, a junior from Solon, achieved a historic milestone at the Ohio DECA Career Development Conference in Columbus. Competing in the Startup Business Plan category, historically one of the most rigorous events in the organization, Taeho went head-to-head against 39 of the brightest young entrepreneurs in the state.

After a grueling preliminary round, Taeho advanced to the Top 12 and ultimately placed 2nd overall in the State of Ohio. This is the first time we have had a competitor qualify for the national conference in 10 years!

His success is a direct reflection of the high-caliber career-technical training he receives daily through our Excel TECC program.

By securing this silver-medal finish, he has officially qualified for the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) this April, where he will represent our program on a global stage alongside 20,000 students from around the world.

It is incredibly rare for a junior to reach this elite level of international competition, and it serves as a fantastic testament to the strength of the vocational partnerships we host here in the district.

 

The Welding students at NCI - Willoughby have been working hard to create a new sign for the City of Willowick.

By collaborating on the Willowick city sign, NCI-W students are not only refining their welding and fabrication skills but also gaining valuable insight into teamwork, project planning, and community involvement. Under the guidance of Mr. Kirchevel, Mr. Molder, and Mr. Stevens, these students are learning how their craftsmanship can make a lasting impact—both professionally and locally. 

Opportunities like this bridge the gap between classroom instruction and real-world application, preparing our students to become skilled, confident, and community-minded tradespeople.