Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Ten medals were recently awarded to Presque Isle Regional Career and Technical Center (PIRCTC) students at the SkillsUSA State of Maine Championships held March 13-14 in Bangor.
Contributed photo
TEN MEDALS were recently awarded to Presque Isle Regional Career and Technical Center students at the SkillsUSA State of Maine Championships held March 13-14 in Bangor. Proudly displaying their medals are, front row, from left: Jim Ouellette, co-adviser; Molly Turner, Tiffany Martin, Laura McGlinn and Paige Nichols. Back row: Tarah Clark, Scott MacCallum, Brian Day, Elizan McLean, Gerard Desjardins, Jeremiah Sjoberg and Amy White, co-adviser. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives, working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. It helps each student to excel. PIRCTC’s five gold medalists are now eligible to compete in the National Leadership and Skills Conference June 23-28 in Kansas City, Mo.
According to Amy White, business technology instructor and SkillsUSA adviser, 26 PIRCTC students attended the event; 20 of them being competitors.
“They competed in areas from photography, customer service, carpentry, welding, job interview and automotives,” said White. “Any student from any of the PIRCTC classes can join our SkillsUSA Chapter. Students then can select which competition they want to compete in. If we have more than one student that wants to compete in a specific contest we then hold school competitions to determine who goes to the state
contest.”
Winning medals were:
• Photography: Jeremiah Sjoberg (gold), Tarah Clark (silver), and Paige Nichols (bronze).
• Related Technical Math: Gerard Desjardins (gold).
• Job Interview: Tiffany Martin (gold).
• Customer Service: Brian Day (silver).
• Cabinet Making: Scott MacCallum (bronze).
• Architectural Drafting: Elizan McLean (silver).
• Promotional Bulletin Board: Team of Laura McGlinn and Molly Turner (gold).
“Fifty percent medals out of our competitors is truly awesome,” said White. “Jim Ouellette, our other adviser, and I are thrilled with the work ethic and determination that our students showed. They represented our school extremely well. It is also encouraging to us with our teaching when our students are able to place amongst the top students in the state.”
Scott Wilson, PIRCTC chapter president, competed in the carpentry category.
“[I had to do a] written examination which included a variety of building scenarios, as well as a six-hour contest in which I had to frame a building,” he said. “My training in competition at the state level over the past two years has aided my growth in my building trades classes. Real world applications are the best training students can receive.”
Wilson said he valued the opportunity to compete.
“Being chosen as the competitor over my classmates proved to me that my instructor believes in me and recognizes the importance of his students showcasing their skills at the state championships,” he said. “As a senior, this is the last year I can compete for my school in SkillsUSA. I will truly miss it.”
Silver medalist Brian Day, also a senior, competed in the customer service category.
“I had to role play a scenario where I was the customer service lead at a fictional company,” said Day. “The contest showed my business ability in providing customer service to the business clients.
“The competition provided me the opportunity to showcase my career and technical education training at the state level,” he said. “I would encourage all technical students to be involved.”
Larry Fox, director of the PIRCTC, said he has been “very impressed with the SkillsUSA program both locally and across the state.”
“Students have the opportunity to develop, practice and demonstrate practical job skills in every area of Technical School programming. Advisers and students spend many hours in and out of their classrooms practicing and perfecting job skills in over 70 individual categories,” he said. “High school and community college students from around the state have access to the organization and compete locally for the right to represent their school at the state level.
“The opportunity for students to work closely with their instructors and other adult experts in their fields helps to assure that the skills necessary to compete in the 21st century workplace are learned and passed on,” said Fox.
PIRCTC’s five gold medalists are now eligible to compete in the National Leadership and Skills Conference June 23-28 in Kansas City, Mo.
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives, working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. It helps each student to excel.
A national organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations, including health occupations, SkillsUSA was formerly known as VICA (the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America).
More than 285,000 student and instructors join SkillsUSA annually, organized into more than 15,000 sections and 54 state and territorial associations. SkillsUSA has served more than 9.3 million members.
Contributed photo
STUDENTS at the Presque Isle Regional Career and Technical Center recently attended the SkillsUSA State of Maine Championships in Bangor and claimed 10 medals. The students competed in areas from photography, customer service, carpentry, welding, job interview and automotives. A national organization serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations, including health occupations, SkillsUSA was formerly known as VICA (the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America).
