After taking the gold medal at the SkillsUSA state competition for web design, Old Colony vocational seniors Chad Underhill and Mack Chabot will be heading to that national competition in June.

SkillsUSA, founded in 1965, is a national nonprofit organization for students in career and technical education programs. There are approximately 15,000 school chapters in 54 states and territories.

Underhill and Chabot, who have been in Old Colony’s Computer Information Science program since freshmen year, were paired after receiving the top two scores in the initial level of the competition.

The two already get along and have every class together, so teaming up wasn’t too difficult, said Underhill.

They sailed through the district written test and were then on to the state level: creating a website from scratch in five hours.

“It was definitely a challenge with the time limit,” said Underhill, who took home a bronze last year at state. “Other than that, we were pretty confident in our skill set.”

Both plan to study computer science in college, Chabot at UMass Dartmouth and Underhill at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Underhill said he’s interested in cyber security but also likes web design.

“It’s always just appealed to me. I find it enjoyable because you kind of start with nothing,” he said. “There’s a lot of problem solving which I enjoy doing. There’s also an artistic aspect to it.”

The national competition, June 22 to 27 in Louisville, Kentucky, could be a great start to whatever aspect of computer science the young men pursue.

Underhill said companies will be there eyeing the talent, and there are a number of scholarships up for grabs.

Between now and the competition, the two are preparing for the competition by building sample websites from scratch and practicing their presentation skills.

They will have CIS teacher Ryan Robidoux, adviser Doug Sims and Vocational Coordinator Jackie Macomber cheering them on at the competition.

Learn more about the competition at skillsusa.org.