Six Washtenaw Community College students claimed SkillsUSA state championships, earning the right to represent the college at the SkillsUSA national leadership and skills conference in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 19-23.
The WCC contingent includes Wyatt Knick (right), a two-time SkillsUSA national gold medalist in Automotive Refinishing Technology. Knick won the high school-level title as a student at Upper Valley Career Center in Piqua, Ohio prior to winning the post-secondary title last year as a WCC student.
In his quest to three-peat as a national champion, Knick qualified for a trip to Louisville by winning a state title in a new category: Collision Repair Technology.
Ashley Carravallah (Automotive Refinishing Technology) and Kyle Cejmer (Overall Welding) also won individual state titles and automatic entry to the national competition. The WCC Welding Fabrication team of Lindsay Nye, Anthony Sprow and Corey Brown will also compete.
The 53rd annual National Leadership and Skills Conference is a showcase of career and technical education students. More than 16,000 people — including students, teachers and business partners — are expected to participate in the weeklong event.
The SkillsUSA Championships will be held on Wednesday, June 21 and Thursday, June 22. More than 6,000 career and technical education students –– all state contest winners –– will compete hands-on in 100 different trade, technical and leadership fields. Students work against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations.
Contests are run with the help of industry, trade associations and labor organizations, and test competencies are set by industry. Leadership contestants will demonstrate skills including extemporaneous speaking and conducting meetings by parliamentary procedure.
The competitions are open to the public and free of charge.