CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
Vol. 42, No. 50
July 3, 2008
32 Missouri Students Win Medals at the National
“SkillsUSA” Championships in Kansas City
SkillsUSA recognized 32 Missouri high school and college students for their outstanding skills at its national championships held last week in Kansas City. SkillsUSA presented medals for first, second and third place finishers during the awards ceremony of its 44th National Leadership and Skills Conference.
Working against the clock and each other, more than 5,000 career and technical education students proved their expertise in 91 trade, technical and leadership fields. At Bartle Hall and in other facilities equaling the space of more than 16 football fields, students demonstrated job skills for occupations such as electronics, technical drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts. Students also tested their leadership skills, such as extemporaneous speaking and conducting meetings by parliamentary procedure.
SkillsUSA is the national organization for students in trade, industrial, technical and health occupations education. It sponsors the SkillsUSA Championships each year to recognize the achievements of career and technical education students and to encourage them to strive for excellence and pride in their chosen occupations.
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 also constitute a portion of the criteria for each event.
Missouri’s 2008 SkillsUSA medalists are:
Individual Competitions – Gold
Electronics Applications
Ben Mellott
Linn State Technical College
Internetworking
Kinzie Doll
Metropolitan Community College, Kansas City
Job Interview
Katherine Jones
Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield
Screen Printing
Katie Boyts
Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield
Individual Competitions – Silver
Technical Computer Applications
Nicholas Brooks
Rolla Technical Institute
Team Competitions – Bronze
Video Product Development
Zack Harris and Ron Pokracki
Cape Girardeau Career Technical Center
Quiz Bowl
Christopher Davidson, Erich Duncan, Matthew Pruett, David Rostad and Joseph Splitt
Linn State Technical College
The 2008 secondary-level medalists are:
Individual Competitions – Gold
Architectural Drafting
Andrew Grafeman
Lewis & Clark Career Center, St. Charles
Aviation Maintenance Technology
Steve Ellebracht
Gateway Institute of Technology, St. Louis
Motorcycle Service Technology
Zach Cole
Four Rivers Career Center, Washington
Individual Competitions – Silver
Electronics Applications
Matthew Wilson
Davis H. Hart Career Center, Mexico
Employment Application Process
Ryan Butler
Excelsior Springs Area Career Center
Individual Competitions – Bronze
Basic Health Care Skills
Nicole Howard
Lewis & Clark Career Center, St. Charles
Electronics Technology
Samel Smajlovic
South Technical High School, Special School District of St. Louis County
Medical Math
Kevin Gray
Summit Technology Academy, Lee’s Summit
Telecommunications Cabling
Caleb Salyer
Boonslick Technical Education Center, Boonville
Team Competitions – Silver
Video Product Development
Niki Cofield and Daniel Lies
Cape Girardeau Career Technical Center
Welding Fabrication
Seth Dodson, Kyle Mayers, and Ross Shier
Lex La-Ray Technical Center, Lexington
Team Competitions – Bronze
Engineering Technology
Scott Booska, Shawn Creed, and Matt Wieberg
Davis H. Hart Career Center, Mexico
Information Technology
Jacob Jones, Mario Martinez and Curtis Westbay
Carthage Technical Center
In addition, Missouri had 39 participants in the Timberland Pro/ SkillsUSA Community Service project this year. More than 100 Missouri SkillsUSA Courtesy Corps members also helped with the service project, which capped the week of SkillsUSA activities.
SkillsUSA Missouri reached its 10,000-member mark this year, serving secondary and postsecondary students pursuing industrial and health careers. The state affiliate of the national SkillsUSA organization is the career and technical student organization for Missouri and consists of nine districts with more than 85 local chapters.