Albany teen becomes first New Yorker to win gold medal in barber tournament Skills USA competition

The skills of barbering have already opened doors for Elijah Temple, 17, a student at Albany High School. Elijah spends his free time cutting hair.

His skills took him all the way to the New York State SkillsUSA competition, where he came in 1st place, winning a gold medal.

Elijah started cutting hair a year and a half ago, through a barber program at Albany High led by Jonathon Wafer. The competition took place in late May at the Syracuse State Fairgrounds. Elijah was the first student ever to participate in SkillsUSA barber for NY state and he walked away a champ.

The barber class is a three-year program at Albany High. Students can take the class starting in their sophomore year.

In addition to his teacher, Elijah credits his father for giving him the discipline to always succeed.

See his skills firsthand by watching the video of Taniqua Pennix’s story.