Kicking stereotypes to the curb, Ariela Vega, a 16-year-old junior representing Cobb Innovation & Technology Academy (CITA), dominated the HVAC competition at the Georgia SkillsUSA State Leadership & Skills Conference, held Feb. 19-21. She also made history as the first female student to earn top honors in the category.
“I had it down and was confident in my work. I felt like I was very well collected,” Vega says, of stepping onto the competition floor. “I was in the headspace of champion mode.”
Not only the winner but the only female HVAC competitor, Vega says she kept to herself initially, letting her knowledge and talent do the talking. “I came here to win and nothing else.”
That singular focus will serve her well as Vega prepares to compete against the best in the nation at the 2026 SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference, in Atlanta, Ga., scheduled June 1–5.
“I am very eager to learn. I don’t want to waste a single second that I could use to better my performance,” she says. “I have a lot of support from my teachers and peers, but my greatest support is being able to believe in myself. In competition, there is always some doubt, but you have to persevere.”
John Martin teaches HVAC at CITA, is the school’s SkillsUSA advisor and his students’ biggest cheerleader.
“Ariela practiced so hard and had it down. She is the best student I’ve ever taken to states and she absolutely dominated.”
Even from his vantage point on the sidelines — coaches are not permitted to interact with their students during competition — Martin knew Vega was right on track. “I could see her body language and the judges’ reactions. I knew she was extremely comfortable and poised.” When she walked off the floor, she looked at me and said, “Mr. Martin, I just won this thing. She was that confident.”
Vega was joined at the conference by classmates Dipanvita “Deepa” Basdeo, Gwyn Heinl and Jenny Luu, the first all-female team from CITA’s heating and air pathway. All four hold certifications they’ve earned under Martin’s tutelage, though they competed in different SkillsUSA events.
The four teammates are already inspiring the next generation. Martin took their photo “rock band” style for a poster that adorns his classroom wall. Younger female students enrolled in his introductory class will point to it and declare, “‘That will be us next year,’ he says. Martin also created a hype video in advance of the state conference: You can watch it here:
He recalls taking the team to breakfast before the competition and assuring them that regardless of the outcome, he would not be disappointed. “I told them that you are the best from CITA to represent us, period.”
CITA operates as a magnet program in Cobb County, at Osborne High School, Martin’s alma mater. Students must apply to participate and within the construction program can select from HVAC, masonry, carpentry, plumbing and electrical pathways, in addition to welding and heavy equipment. CITA also offers automotive technology, computer science, alternative energy courses and houses a health care sciences wing.
Martin is in his fifth year of teaching at CITA and has a stellar record of consistently bringing HVAC winners to the state conference. His first day back in the classroom following Vega’s win, he says she was ready for more. “Ariela is so driven and focused. We are going to do our best to get her up on the podium for nationals.”
“Winning is accomplished through hard work and these kids want it.”
Ariela Vega
At 16, Vega is also setting a high bar at CITA as the first female HVAC student to also be dual-enrolled at Chattahoochee Technical College. In addition to her gold medal at the SkillsUSA State Leadership & Skills Conference in Georgia, last fall she was the first female to win the AGC Challenge.
Vega’s first foray into the trades was in the carpentry program at CITA but says she couldn’t envision herself in a full-time construction career. However, her friends encouraged her to enroll in the heating and air program.
“I decided to try it and fell in love with it. I love how hands-on it is and the variety of it,” Vega says. “There are so many different opportunities. You can work in the field, on the tech side, as an installer or doing design work.”
After high school, she is considering a degree in mechanical engineering — seeing strong opportunities in the heating and air industry. “I want to look ahead to my future and secure a stable and secure job. I think pairing up careers would be a good choice.”
She admits that being a woman in a male-dominated field has been difficult at times.
“My mom and dad are so proud of me, but when I reach out further, sometimes people are like, ‘You are a 16-year-old girl.’ I tell them I can do the same things as a 16-year-old boy,” Vega says. “I know I don’t have to prove myself, but I am focused on what I have already accomplished.”
Dipanvita “Deepa” Basdeo and Gwyn Heinl
Basdeo is a senior in her last semester at CITA. Like Vega, she is dual enrolled and plans to attend college. At the Georgia SkillsUSA State Leadership & Skills Conference, she competed in the Job Skill Demo A category, demonstrating the refrigeration cycle. Gwyn Heinl is her assistant and helps with the large visual prop.
As a freshman, Basdeo started in CITA’s health care program but quickly decided that working around blood was not a good fit. She discussed her interests and goals with the school guidance counselor who suggested she look into engineering, which led to enrollment in the heating and air pathway.
“Mr. Martin really inspires me. He cares so much about us, and wants us to grow,” Basdeo says, noting she hopes to earn an engineering degree and eventually move into a business role. “He pushed me to do this competition and now I am so thankful. I was able to get out of my comfort zone and do public speaking. Kudos to him.”
Basdeo’s topic — the basic refrigeration cycle — she describes as a basic building block for HVAC knowledge.
“I had a visualization of how I wanted the model to look. We took a heat pump and added the parts we needed,” she says, of the semester-long build. “We didn’t want to rush it. We took our time and built everything and then I went to work on the speech.”
Her script is memorized which “keeps me in a straight line,” she says, with a laugh. “Whenever I am free, I go over the speech in my head. When I’m on the bus, at home, at a restaurant.”
And as much as Basdeo is the architect of the Job Skills A demonstration team, Heinl is its motor.
“My role with the project is to move the pieces. My partner is an amazing speaker. We work at it as much as we can, to see how we can improve,” Heinl says. “We both really wanted to do something that could visually show people what goes on in their house with the heating and cooling system.”
Heinl, a sophomore at CITA, says she and Basdeo have a shared passion for their topic. “It is neat to see someone similar to you with similar interests … We are all quite good at what we do.”
Jenny Luu
Luu, a senior in the HVAC pathway, competed in T-shirt Design at the state conference after placing third out of 21 contestants in the regional competition.
“I have a passion for design and creating new things,” Luu says. “I love the idea of people wearing my design.”
This year’s SkillsUSA theme is “Champion Your Future,” and Luu says her design incorporates buildings that pay homage to Georgia’s cities, and a trophy filled with emblems of her home state, such as a Coca-Cola bottle, a peach and Cherokee roses.
“I had several versions of the same design that I kept perfecting. What I believe makes a good design is when it speaks to me. I am proud of this design, and I love that other people look at it and think it is cool,” Luu says.
