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P-T students fare well at skills competition
Lewis-Clark State College Industrial & Technology students fared well in the Idaho State SkillsUSA competition, which was held at both Lewiston and Boise last weekend.
LCSC students swept the top three places in the Heating, Venting, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) competition at Lewiston. LCSC students also took first and second in the Diesel and Computer Maintenance Technology competitions, and seconds in Collision Repair and Information Systems Analysis. In all, LCSC students won nine of 15 medals in five events.
The first-place finisher in each event qualifies for the national SkillsUSA competition on June 23-29 at Kansas City.
The Idaho SkillsUSA competition involved professional technical students from institutions throughout Idaho. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. Each student competed in their technical occupations.
In the HVAC competition, Jarrad Porter of Lewiston won the gold medal, Jeremy Kappler of Moscow took the silver, and Eric Jackson of Lewiston won the bronze.
The students competed in several skill areas, including written tests pertaining to HVAC skills and certification levels, making a project using soldered and brazed connections, testing for electrical failure and diagnostics on air conditioners, gas furnaces, and 2 heat-pumps, and testing for pump-down and temperatures on refrigeration analysis.
Prizes for this year’s state contest included work clothing, test meters, and tools specific for the craft donated from Johnstone Supply Company (Spokane), Mike’s Heating and Air (Lewiston), and Derek Wilson. Major sponsors for this year’s event were Copeland Corporation, Carrier Corporation, Sears, Rheem, Scotsman Ice Machines, Robinair, and Lennox Industries.
The judges for the competition were Kevin Parris, Up-the-Creek Heating and A/C (Orofino), Derek Wilson of Mike’s Heating (Lewiston), Rick Disarno of Hobson Fabricating (Lewiston), and Alan Zander of Lightning Heating (Lewiston).
The LCSC Diesel Club traveled to Boise for its state competition, and according to LCSC instructor Bill Frei, LCSC students took 10 of the top 11 spots. Andy Kuther, a first-year student in the diesel program, won the gold medal, while Andy Vakoch, a second-year student, captured the silver medal. A student from Idaho State finished third.
The Information Systems Analysis Club sent four competitors to Boise and came away with three medals. Danielle Olson, a freshman from Lewiston, took first in the Computer Maintenance Technology, while Christopher Covert of Lewiston finished second. Lance Dice, a sophomore from Lewiston, was second in the Information Systems Analysis program. It’s the second straight year the LCSC Information Systems Analysis Club has qualified students for nationals.
In Collision Repair, Luke Thomas of Laclede, Idaho, placed second.
The three winners from LCSC – Porter, Kuther, and Olson – will attend the national competition along with their advisors and will represent both the college and the state. The SkillsUSA Championships is the showcase for the best career and technical students in the nation. This is a multi-million dollar event that occupies a space equivalent to 12 football fields. In 2007, there were more than 4,800 contestants in 84 events.
The philosophy of the Championships is to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and to keep training relevant to employers' needs.
To help the four LCSC students obtain the finances necessary to attend nationals, donations are being accepted. Please contact Professional Technical Programs at LCSC at 792-2225 to donate.
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