Limestone County student, Dilyn Barron, has been nationally recognized for her skills in cosmetology after winning gold at the Skills USA competition in June.

Barron, a junior going into her senior year this fall, said that her mom was her inspiration to learn the skills in cosmetology and had also been a student at the Limestone County Career Technical Center.

She said this year she was trying to soak up all the knowledge she could as they prepare for competitions and state boards.

“It was crazy. I was so shocked. I’ve just kind of looked at this year as an experience year,” Barron said. “I couldn’t wait to get back to Mrs. Black and Mom after they announced my name for gold to see their reactions.”

Barron is a student of Glennis Black, who has been teaching at the Technical Center for over 25 years. Black has had three bronze medalists and one silver in the Skills USA competition before, but this is her first student to earn the gold.

“She’s very supportive, and she’s always going to push you to be the best that you can be,” Barron said.

Black joked with the students that now she could retire. But, she made clear that she was just teasing them and not ready to do that just yet.

“I still love coming to work. I’m still effective as a teacher. I still feel like I’m doing a good job … why leave something I love?” Black said.

Black described a moment where she and Barron were still taking it all in after winning the gold and Barron asked her what was next.

“I said ‘Girl get ready. We’re gonna blast ‘em!’ We’re going to go to the world competition. I can’t wait. That’s once in a career,” Black said.

Barron will compete with the first, second, and third place winners of the national competition over a three-year period to choose who will represent the United States in a world competition, Black said.

Vince Green, the director of the Technical Center, said that this doesn’t surprise him because he knows how hard they work in the program. He noted that cosmetology is a highly competitive program nationwide and compared it to other schools winning a national title in sports.

“Dilyn is such a great ambassador for our school, and it’s just going to make kids work harder to try to be a part of that winning spirit.” Green said. “When they do that they just get better and better and better at their skillset.”

Three other students also represented Limestone County at the competition, which showcases student skills from different career paths. Makarlee Martin competed in the barbering competition, coming in 6th in the nation. Will Carter and Alex Girodo competed in HVAC categories.