Competition showcases trade skills
High school students compete to qualify for statewide event
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The next generation of Central Pennsylvania's tradesmen and tradeswomen showed off their handiwork Tuesday during the SkillsUSA competition held at the Blair County Convention Center.
Roughly 300 students from more than 15 trade schools in Blair, Bedford, Clearfield, Huntingdon, Centre and other nearby counties convened for the state District 7 competition in hopes of qualifying for the statewide competition to be held in Hershey in April.
While the automotive competitions were held off site at Stuckey Automotive's Collision Center in Duncansville, dozens of others were held at the convention center, including carpentry, cosmetology, culinary arts and welding.
It has been four or five years since Stuckey's hosted the competition events, and owner Matt Stuckey said the business was happy to welcome the aspiring technicians when SkillsUSA reached out.
Stations were set up so that students had no idea what they were getting to work on until they were standing in front of the vehicle or the table, said Ken Dibert, Northern Bedford County High School auto service instructor and District 7 treasurer with SkillsUSA Pennsylvania.
"It's the student's job to figure out what's wrong with the vehicle," Stuckey said.
"They have no idea what vehicle they are going to work on, so it's a level playing field," Dibert said, adding, "All these students had to qualify. They are the best in their class at their schools."
According to District 7 chair Jamie Rhed, most schools have in-house events where students compete to attend the district competition.
"They all earned the right to be here," Rhed said.
Grant Ferguson, a senior at Chestnut Ridge High School and a student at Bedford County Technical Center, said he appreciates the problem-solving aspect of working on vehicles.
"I like the challenge," he said.
Kayden Iley, a junior at Huntingdon Area High School and a student at the Huntingdon County Career and Technology Center, said he has been working on cars for three or four years and hopes to get into the mechanical field upon graduation.
He found out about
SkillsUSA and the District 7 competition because one of his instructors told him he had the ability to qualify for the event.
As students worked on a variety of vehicle issues at Stuckey's, the rest of the competition took up several floors and a variety of rooms at the convention center.
Dodie Amigh, executive director for SkillsUSA Pennsylvania, said this was the second year the District 7 competition was held at the convention center, and as everyone loved the setup, the center is slated to play host for years to come.
Amigh and Rhed emphasized the importance of judges and local businesses to the success of the event.
"This event would not be possible without our judges," Rhed said.
One of those judges was Mark Loomis, a retired union carpenter. Loomis said he started judging the SkillsUSA event last year after being asked to attend by a former union colleague.
Loomis worked in the union for almost 20 years and said he enjoys being able to see the rise and skills of up-and-coming carpenters.
"I used to be these high schoolers and to now be a judge, the turnaround is amazing," Loomis said.
Amigh said SkillsUSA Pennsylvania reaches out to local businesses throughout the year, looking for partners and supporters. Lowe's is a big contributor to the event, she said, donating most of the wood for the carpentry and construction competitions.
One trend Amigh said has been great to witness over the last decade has been the presence of women in the trades.
"Ten years ago, it was a lot less common," she said. "Now, it's normal. We celebrate that."
There were several female students competing in the different domains, including ones that are stereotypically male-dominated like auto mechanics and electricians.
Amigh said one of her favorite parts of the entire event is watching the awards ceremony at the end of the day, when the students -- who are required to remain anonymous throughout the competition to avoid any possibility of bias with judging -- are announced as winners.
"You watch these students emerge" with joy and enthusiasm when teammates are called up, Amigh said.
Isaac Norris, a Huntingdon senior, competed in the related technical math category after finishing at the top of his class in his school's event. Norris said he is a sort of outlier in his field, especially when he participates in carpentry and construction.
"I'm more book smart than hands smart," he said.
Norris plans to get into an architecture-related field eventually, but for now, he is keeping his options open.
"I've got my eggs in a lot of baskets right now," he said.
Because of his experience at the Huntingdon County CTC, Norris said he feels well prepared for life after school and has dipped his toes in several different domains.
"I feel like I'm a step ahead of everyone else out of high school," he said.
Mirror Staff Writer Nate Powles is at 814-946-7466.