2009 SkillsUSA Postsecondary Nationals

Twelve NYS SkillsUSA winners (who competed at Alfred State College in the spring) competed at the 2009 SkillsUSA Postsecondary Nationals in Kansas City, MO, June 22-27, 2009.  Of the 12, nine were Alfred State College (ASC) students, two were SUNY Delhi students, and one was a Culinary Institute of America (CIA) student.

Those students who captured medals included:

• David Drosendhal, Jr., East Aurora (ASC), who won a bronze medal in the Diesel Equipment Technology competition;
• Ryan Machus, Java Center (ASC), who won a bronze medal in the CNC Milling Technology competition;
• Josh Feltz, Schroon Lake (ASC), who won a silver medal in the Computer Maintenance Technology competition; and
• Mateusz Plaza, Wallington, NY (CIA), who captured the gold medal in the Commercial Baking competition.

Other competitors included:

• Shawn Bevington, Akron (ASC), Masonry competition;
• Ryan Sisson, Belmont (ASC), Precision Machining Technology competition;
• Geoffrey Ball, Lockport (ASC), Technical Drafting competition;
• Brandon Chaffee, Ithaca (ASC), Automotive Service Technology competition;
• Alex Kuehne, Penn Yan (ASC), Carpentry competition;
• John Shafer, Gasport (ASC), Welding competition;
• Mark Magiotta, LaGrangeville (CIA), Culinary Arts competition; and
• Thomas Lenz, Hudson (Delhi) – Residential Wiring competition.

The NYS delegation included nine students and five faculty/administrators from Alfred State College. All of the participating students had previously won the NYS competition held at Alfred State in March. 

This year, approximately 5,000 students from around the country competed in 87 different trade, technical, and leadership fields.  

Students work against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations like electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting, and culinary arts. Contests are run with the help of industry, trade associations, and labor organizations, and test competencies are set by industry.  Leadership contestants demonstrate skills including extemporaneous speaking and conducting meetings by parliamentary procedure.

The students compete to national standards with other students from all 50 states. The competitions are set up and judged by industry representatives. Over $20 million dollars is donated in time and equipment to the weeklong event.

SkillsUSA is a national organization that serves trade, industrial, technical, and health occupations, and students in public high schools, vocational centers, and colleges.  The organization serves over 290,000 students nationwide, as well as three US territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) and the District of Columbia. 

Alfred State College faculty and staff who accompanied the students to Kansas City included Craig Clark, dean, School of Applied Technology and NYS Postsecondary SkillsUSA director; Deb Burch, associate professor, Culinary Arts Department and Alfred State College SkillsUSA adviser; John M. Santora, associate professor and chair, Culinary Arts Department; Jeff Stevens, assistant professor, Electrician, Computer and Robotics Technician Department; and Jim Fleischman, assistant professor, Automotive Trades Department.  Burch and Santora served as judges for the baking and culinary competitions, respectively.     

Those interested in forming chapters at other NYS colleges should contact Clark at (607) 587-3101. Program information regarding technical areas of education should be directed to 1-800-4-ALFRED.