L to R: High School medalists— Bronze-Victoria E. Slagle, Troup County Comprehensive High School (Ga.);
Gold-Kristy Sevener, Slinger High School (Wisc.);
and Silver-Jeremy M. Carnathan, Fairfield Career and Technical Center (S.C.)
Kansas City, MO – Victoria Slagle, a sophomore at Troup High School, was awarded the Bronze medal in the Screen Printing Technology at the annual National Leadership and Skills Conference and SkillsUSA Championships. The competition was held at Bartle Hall, Municipal Auditorium and American Royal in Kansas City, Missouri.
Working against the clock and each other, screen printing contestants were tested on their ability to prepare screens, print a five-color design with specialty inks on a rotary press, and register a three-color design on a rotary press. Contestants also completed a written technical knowledge test and participated in an oral professional assessment. Victoria had the highest score of all secondary and post-secondary competitors in the written technical knowledge exam.
In preparation for the competition, Victoria spent many hours working through all of the steps necessary in the production of a printed garment. Employees at Mud Creek Graphics in LaGrange volunteered their time and equipment to help her train. Mud Creek Graphics owner and her father, Greg Hicks, says it was “tremendously rewarding to see all of her efforts and training pay off when she lifted her hands in the air on the winner’s platform. All of the students had worked really hard to get to that level and they showed such a high level of professionalism.”
Also competing in Power Equipment Technology was Tanner Hicks, a sophomore at Troup High School and in Automotive Technology was Scotty Thompson, a junior at Troup High School. Both students finished in the top half of their competitions.
Power Equipment Technology tests student skills in all areas of this technology. They must know and understand both 2 & 4 cycle engines. They should know and understand the related theories that go along with the types of engines that they will come across in the industry. They should also understand drive trains, hydraulic, as well as wiring schematics. Contestants will need to be versed in customer service. As they rotate through the various stations they are judged and scored on both physical and oral skills. They are further tested with their ability to read and follow the job tasks that are given.
Automotive Service Technology contestants will demonstrate their ability to perform jobs and skills based on the task list outlined by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF). Workstations consist of on-vehicle, simulations, bench and component testing and a written test. Contestants will be judged on technical competency, accuracy, quality, safety and ability to follow directions. There are thirteen skill stations plus the written test.
The contests are planned by technical committees made up of representatives of labor and management and are designed to test the skills needed for a successful entry‑level performance in given occupational fields. Safety practices and procedures - an area of great concern to labor and management alike - are judged and graded and constitute a portion of a contestant’s score.
The SkillsUSA Championship is considered the largest single day of corporate volunteerism in America and valued at $30 million in industry support of donated time, equipment, cash and material. All contests are run by and judged by industry using industry standards for employment. Over 500 industry judges participated this year.
The SkillsUSA Championships is for high school and college-level students who are members of SkillsUSA. More than 5,000 students from every state and three territories competed in 87 contests in technical, skilled, and service occupations. In order to qualify for the national competition, the students competed in local, regional and state contests. Only the state gold medal winners advanced to the national SkillsUSA Championships.
A complete list of winners, conference photos and contest descriptions can be found at www.skillsusa.org |
