Students Bring Home Gold and More from State SkillsUSA Competition

Published: March 30, 2009 | Read Time: 2 minutes

Southern Utah University’s engineering technology students brought home one gold, two silver and two bronze medals from last week’s SkillsUSA state competition in Salt Lake City. Each year thousands of Utah high school and college students compete against each other in technical and skilled areas in hopes of going on to Nationals, which will be held the fourth week in June this year in Kansas City, Missouri. 

Shane Johnson, Computer Aided Design (CAD) major, placed first in Technical Drafting; Daniel Thompson and Shane Christensen, Electronics Engineering Technology majors, placed second in Mechatronics (a team competition); Ammon Losee, Electronics Engineering Technology major, took third in Electronics Applications; and Richard Sherwood, Electronics Engineering Technology major, took third in Electronics Technology. 

SUU’s state gold medalist Shane Johnson will go on to compete at nationals, held June 22-26. Johnson will compete for top honors in technical drafting and will be judged on his skills and ability to perform under pressure. 

“I think winning gold at state and being able to compete on a national level is a reflection of a great program and great students,” said Richard Cozzens, Professional in Residence for Integrated Engineering and Technology. 

Other SUU student participants included Robert Kerksiek in Automotive Service Technology and Janell Rudd in Electronics Technology. 

“Winning the SkillsUSA State Competition is a great achievement; placing in SkillsUSA Nationals is a lifetime achievement,” said Dave Ward, Associate Professor of Electronics and Technology and Director of Career and Technology Education. “SUU has garnered more than thirty medals over the years in all areas of technology, with eight being in electronics alone.” 

According to SkillsUSA’s Web site, SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving teachers, high school students, and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations, including health occupations. SkillsUSA was formerly known as VICA (Vocational Industrial Clubs of America).

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