LC State Campus

News Release

Eight LCSC students place in SkillsUSA Idaho competitions

LEWISTON, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State College students in the Technical & Industrial Division fared well recently in SkillsUSA Idaho Leadership & Skills Conference competitions held around the state last month.

The Idaho SkillsUSA competitions are open to all Idaho college students and serve to help evaluate a student’s preparation for employment as well as to recognize outstanding students for excellence in various facets of their field.

The LCSC Manufacturing Club took four students to Boise to compete in various events related to machining and manufacturing, and three came away with medals. Raymond (Andy) Fisher, who is enrolled in the CNC machining technology program, won the gold medal for CNC turning (lathe). With his victory, Fisher advances to the National SkillsUSA competition, which will be held in Louisville, Ky., on June 19-23. Fisher, who is from Orofino, Idaho, will compete with other state winners in the event.

Also earning a gold medal for finishing first was Ian Hurst for technical drafting. Hurst is enrolled in the engineering technology program and also will represent Idaho at the national meet in Louisville. Hurst, who is from Asotin, Wash., edged out classmate Tyler MacMillan, who placed a close second and earned the silver medal.

The fourth competitor for LCSC was freshman A.J. Peterson, who placed fourth in Precision Machining.

LCSC was the host site for the SkillsUSA Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC/R) competition. Along with being evaluated on their abilities to diagnose problems in those areas, students also took a written exam to evaluate their understanding of theory and they were required to turn in a resume. The judges were members of local industries in the Lewis-Clark Valley.

LCSC swept the top three places in the HVAC/R competition as Aidan Parris won the gold medal, Travis Hagen the silver medal, and Carsten Smith, the bronze medal. Both Parris and Hagen are first-year students in the LCSC HVAC/R program, while Smith is in his second year. Smith also won the bronze last year. Parris, who is from Orofino, will be LCSC’s third representative at Louisville for the national competition.

“The competition was extremely close and all students performed very well,” LCSC HVAC/R assistant professor J.R. Kok said. “In addition to the competition, students met valuable contacts in the industry while judges received a glimpse at the future workforce Lewis-Clark State College will provide them.”

In the diesel technology competition, LCSC’s Sam Faerber, a second-year student in the diesel technology program, won the silver medal. He competed against 20 other college students from Idaho.

LCSC’s Jessica Nieman took second place in the Automotive Refinishing competition after she finished first in a regional competition earlier this year.

Note – Photo (attached) ID, from left to right in order are

Jessica Nieman

Carsten Smith

Travis Hagen

Sam Faerber

Andy Fisher

Ian Hurst

Tyler MacMillan

Aidan Parris