NEW HARTFORD — Kimberly Petronella, a coordinator/teacher of the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES New Visions: Health Professions program, was recently named as the national SkillsUSA Adviser of the Year and an inaugural recipient of the SkillsUSA Hall of Champions award.

The awards were presented to Petronella at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference Recognition Session last week in Atlanta.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry professionals working together to offer leadership and citizenship development to complement students’ career and technical education skills training. Chapters and their members are also able to participate in local, state and national SkillsUSA competitions.

As one of the top five regional winners, Petronella was interviewed during the national conference, and then selected as the National Adviser of the Year.

“Kimberly is a SkillsUSA champion with a true passion for helping students develop their talents and leadership,” said Chelle Travis, executive director of SkillsUSA. “She supports quality programming for students built around the SkillsUSA Framework, which prepares them for further education or joining our nation’s skilled workforce.”

Before joining BOCES as a health occupations teacher in 1997, Petronella worked as a charge nurse, nurse manager, nursing supervisor and floor nurse. During her nursing tenure, she worked in numerous specialty areas including medical-surgical nursing, long-term care, acute care, rehabilitation, critical care, urgent care and home-based health services. She attended the OHM BOCES LPN program while in high school and is a member of the
Association for Career and Technical Education. “My CTE experience provided me with the opportunity to explore and learn about my career of choice, and I am so proud that I have the ability to pay it forward to future generations of health care providers,” Petronella said.

She was previously recognized as the Rotary Club Teacher of the Year, a 2022 Women of Distinction award recipient, the 2020-2021 SkillsUSA Area II Adviser of the Year, the recipient of the 2021 SkillsUSA Outstanding Career and Technical Educator Award, the 2022 SkillsUSA Region I Advisor of the Year and an inaugural recipient of the SkillsUSA Hall of Champions Award.

The OHM BOCES chapter of SkillsUSA has also received recognition under Petronella’s leadership, earning the Gold Level in the Chapter of Excellence program for four consecutive years and being honored as a national Model of Excellence in 2021.

“Kim Petronella exemplifies the service components of Skills-USA and constantly dedicates her time and effort to increase student opportunities in the classroom and in the community,” said David Stayton, OHM BOCES Career and Technical Education Principal. “Kim is an exceptional educator and role model for our newer instructors. We are very proud of her accomplishments in her role as a SkillsUSA adviser,” he added.

The Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES serves the Brookfield, Clinton, Holland Patent, New Hartford, New York Mills, Oriskany, Remsen, Sauquoit Valley, Utica, Waterville, Westmoreland and Whitesboro school district.