±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College's School of Applied Technology, Wellsville, hosted the 11th annual New York State Postsecondary (college level) SkillsUSA competition in March. Competitions took place in automotive service, CNC milling, carpentry, collision repair technology, commercial baking, computer maintenance technology, cosmetology, culinary, diesel technology, job skills demonstration, masonry, precision machining, residential wiring, technical drafting, and welding.
Participants from ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, SUNY Delhi, Culinary Institute of America (CIA), and Wilson Technology participated this year. Winners will compete in the National SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City June 21-26, 2009. Last year nine participants from ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, one from Delhi, and two from the Culinary Institute of America competed at Nationals. Six students placed in the top 10 in the nation! ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College had two students taking 5th place in the nation and the two students from the Culinary Institute of America each took home a silver medal. More than 4,500 students from around the country competed in over 87 vocational and leadership skill areas. The competitions are set up and judged by industry representatives.
"The success of our students at this national event is an indication of how strong our programs are and shows off the talents of New York State students," noted Craig R. Clark, NYS Postsecondary SkillsUSA Director.
2009 SkillsUSA Postsecondary Championship Results (top three in order of finish):
- Automotive: Brandon Chaffee, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Ithaca; Christopher Coleman, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Bloomingdale; Benjamin Long, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Westfield;
- Carpentry: Alex Kuehne, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Penn Yan; Matt Kugler, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, North Tonawanda; Josh Narrow, Delhi, Potsdam;
- CNC Milling: Ryan Machus, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Java Center; Josiah Vonberg, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Unadilla; Samuel Hotaling, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Schenectady;
- Collision Repair Technology: Jonathan Sawicki, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Syracuse; Megan Blount, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Bergen; Kevin Smith, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Turnersville, NJ;
- Commercial Baking: Matt Plaza, Culinary Institute of America, Wallington, NJ; Flora Iverson, Alfred State College, Franklinville; David Milam, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Arkport;
- Computer Maintenance Technology: Josh Feltz, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Schroon Lake; Christopher Woodard, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Addison; Katie DeRigge, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Elmira;
- Cosmetology: Avagaye Wright, Western Suffolk BOCES/Wilson Tech, Hempstead; Nicole Neubauer, Western Suffolk BOCES/Wilson Tech, East Northport; Dana Grillo, Western Suffolk BOCES/Wilson Tech, Brentwood;
- Culinary: Mark Magiotta, Culinary Institute of America, LaGrangeville; Cameron Roszkowski, Culinary Institute of America, Georgetown; Christopher Clark, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Olean;
- Diesel Technology: Dave Drosendahl, Jr., ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, East Aurora; Travis McKenna, Alfred State College, Barker; Adam Townsend, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Corning;
- Job Skills: Lola Selby Martin, Western Suffolk BOCES/Wilson Tech, Bayswater; Felicia Scanapico, Western Suffolk BOCES/Wilson Tech, Kingspark; Frank O'Donnell, Western Suffolk BOCES/Wilson Tech, West Islip;
- Masonry: Shawn Bevington, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Akron; George Woodworth, Delhi, Kingston; Mathew Draper, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Marion;
- Precision Machining: Ryan Sisson, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Belmont; Ian Rotunno, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Endicott; Nathan Hand, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Dalton;
- Residential Wiring: Thomas Lenz, Delhi, Hudson; Mike Smith, Delhi, Cassville; Anthony Favoroso, Delhi, Hauppauge;
- Technical Drafting: Geoffrey Ball, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Lockport; Brett Carrier, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Belfast; Travis Smith, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Almond;
- Welding: John Shafer, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Gasport; Joshua Padlick, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Scottsville; Nicholas Purvee, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Rochester.
In addition to medallions and certificates, winners also received prizes donated by: Abrasive Tool; ACES Campus Store; Anilam Acu-Rite; Canisteo Valley Transportation; The Carriage House Family Salon; Community Bank, NA; Cutco; Culinary Institute of America; Denney Electric; DeWalt; Duggan & Duggan Contractors; Fishers Pharmacy; Flowers, Etc.; Genesee Hardware and Building Supply; The Gleason Works; IBEW Local 910 & NJATC; IBEW Local 241 & Southern Tier NECA; KOS; LaForge Disposal Service, Inc.; LaGra Salon and Day Spa; ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College Institutional Advancement Office; Miller Electric Manufacturing; MSC Industrial Supply; NAPA Auto Parts; North Main Lumber; Northern Lights Candles; Richardson and Stout; Salon Visage; Scio Lions Club; Seneca Data; Tinkertown Hardware; and Walker Business and Staffing Services.
SkillsUSA is a national organization that serves trade, industrial, technical, and health occupations and students in public high schools, vocational centers, and colleges. They serve over 284,000 students and instructors nationwide.
±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï was the first college in New York State to establish a student organization for postsecondary SkillsUSA and continues to lead in this process.
Pictured here are the gold-medal winners l-r: diesel: Dave Drosendahl, Jr., ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, East Aurora; collision repair: Jonathan Sawicki, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Syracuse; commercial baking: Matt Plaza, Culinary Institute of America, Wallington, NJ; job skills: Lola Selby Martin, Western Suffolk BOCES/Wilson Tech, Bayswater; Technical drafting: Geoffrey Ball, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Lockport; culinary: Mark Magiotta, Culinary Institute of America, LaGrangeville; residential wiring: Thomas Lenz, Delhi, Hudson; computer maintenance technology: Josh Feltz, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Schroon Lake; carpentry: Alex Kuehne, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Penn Yan; automotive: Brandon Chaffee, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Ithaca; cosmetology: Avagaye Wright, Western Suffolk BOCES/Wilson Tech, Hempstead; precision machining: Ryan Sisson, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Belmont; and welding: John Shafer, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Gasport. Missing from photo: Shawn Bevington, ±¬×ß³Ô¹Ï College, Akron; gold medal winner in masonry.