Local students moving on to state SkillsUSA competition
DBell@CalhounTimes.com
Several local high school students will be headed to the state SkillsUSA competition in March after placing at the region event held at Georgia Northwestern Technical College recently.
Nearly 30 high schools representing the SkillsUSA Region 1 counties of the Northwest Georgia area competed in 25 skill-based competitions on Friday, Dec. 6, spread throughout the Walker County Campus. The top two from each category, except Automotive Service Technology, will advance to the state competition in Atlanta on March 12-14. The Automotive Service Technology category takes the top three students and is the only category to do so.
Area students who placed in those positions included:
Etta McDaniel, Calhoun High, 1st place in Advertising Design
Peyton Parker, Gordon Central High, 1st place in Automotive Service Technology
Banks Hathcox, Calhoun High, 1st place in Cabinet Making
Cody McNeese, Gordon Central High, 1st place in Electrical Construction Wiring
Kevin Fraire, Gordon Central High, 1st place in Masonry
Jessica Lopez, Gordon Central High, 1st place in Prepared Speech
Kathryn Brook, Calhoun High School, 1st place in T-shirt Design
“Think of a science fair for technical students mixed with leadership skills, that is a SkillsUSA competition,” Melissa McLain, GNTC graduation specialist and SkillsUSA advisor said. “These students are learning what they need to do before they get into the workforce.”
According to McLain, there were more than 400 students and observers on the
GNTC campus on Friday getting acquainted with the college as well as future employment opportunities. While the skills learned through competing may benefit future employers, the main purpose of the events was to give students a taste of what is to come.
“It gives them an eye opening experience for what they can do after high school,” McLain said.
While soft skill competitions like speech and interviewing happened inside, the masonry and carpentry competitions were taking place under the awnings of the 300 building. According to Donny Holmes, GNTC program director and instructor of Construction Management, students were given two and a half hours to complete their challenge and were scored on mathematical accuracy as well as other factors. Competitors in the carpentry contest were given a small platform on which they had to build a wall frame with a window and stairs with a railing.
The students had to follow the blueprints provided to them by the judges while using lumber and hardware donated by Cedartown’s Duffy Construction Company. Chesley Chambers, Region 1 SkillsUSA co-chair, said the businesses and industries in the northwest Georgia region are very supportive of the competition since
SKILLSUSA,
it helps students prepare to enter into the workforce.
“SkillsUSA shows the industry what these students can do,” he said. “As a result, they want to hire them.”
While there were plenty
of industrial events involving physical labor such as plumbing and electrical construction wiring, the contest also featured soft skill competitions.
Several other local students placed third in their respective competitions. Those students included:
Gabe Sisson, Gordon Central High, 3rd place in