Published on March 27, 2023
Each year, the Career & Technology Center (CTC), holds a SkillsUSA Competition where students have the opportunity to compete in a variety of career competition events to showcase the technical education they’ve received through the program. This contest begins locally with top students continuing on to States and then to Nationals.
Nearly 5,200 contestants compete in over 100 separate events. The events are judged by roughly 2,000 different judges and contest organizers from labor and management to make the National event possible.
The philosophy of the Championships is to reward students for excellence, to involve the industry in directly evaluating student performance, and to keep training relevant to employers’ needs.
This year, we had students place from the Brownstown Campus, the Willow Street Campus, and the Mount Joy Campus. The following students placed in the top 3:
Brownstown Campus Winners
Contest: Action Skills
Student: Nicholas Longenecker, 12th Grade
CTC Program: Interactive Media & Web Design
Place: 1st*
Contest: Basic Health Care Skills
Student: Amie Ogbebor, 11th Grade
CTC Program: Intro to Health
Place: 3rd
Willow Street Campus Winner
Contest: Maintenance Light Repair
Student: Nathan Lehman, 12th Grade
CTC Program: Auto Tech
Place: 1st*
Mount Joy Campus Winner (Dec 21)
Contest: Industrial Motor Control
Student: Brycen Bires, 12th Grade
CTC Program: Electric Mechanical Engineering
Place: 2nd
*State Qualifiers
Both Nicholas Longenecker and Nathan Lehman will be moving on to the State Competition on April 12th - 14th.
As part of the competition, each year has a different theme. This year’s theme was ‘Our Time is Now.’ Students had to include this theme in their Chapter Display, Prepared Speech, and Promotional Bulletin Board. Additionally, all competitors had to create a one-page resume to submit online as part of their application.
Each competition was different based on the contest students entered. Below are the contest descriptions as written by the SkillsUSA website (https://www.skillsusapa.org/) for each of the students who placed in the top 3:
Action Skills Description - Nicholas Longenecker
This competition requires a five- to seven-minute demonstration of an occupational skill in an area in which a student is training. Competitors use examples, experiments, displays, or practical operations to clearly explain their skills using competitor-prepared visual aids. A letter from the appropriate school official on school letterhead stating that the competitor is classified under the provisions of Public Law 105-17, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 1997, is required for participation.
Basic Healthcare Description - Amie Ogbebor
Competitors demonstrate their knowledge and ability to perform entry-level procedures or skills based on the following list of core standards: academic foundations, communication skills, career opportunity concepts and systems, employability and teamworking, ethical and legal issues, and safety practices. Performance will be evaluated through various stations involving skills testing as well as written and verbal assessments.
Maintenance Light Repair Description - Nathan Lehman
The competition is consistent with the auto maintenance and light repair task list outlined in guidelines published by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and the ASE Education Foundation at: www.aseeducationfoundation.org. Competitors demonstrate their ability to perform jobs or skills selected from the standards mentioned above as determined by the SkillsUSA Championships Technical Committee.
Industrial Motor Control Description - Brycen Bires
Students demonstrate their knowledge of electrical principles, equipment, and industry codes and standards as it relates to the design and installation of motor control systems. Students demonstrate their skills and abilities in applying that knowledge by properly installing motor control equipment and associated enclosures, raceways, pilot devices, and circuitry in accordance with accepted industry practice and National Electric Code requirements.
Great job to all those who participated, congratulations to those who placed, and good luck to those moving on to States!
For more information on the competition, visit https://www.skillsusapa.org/.