At a glance
Five members of the Alfred State College NYS College/Post-secondary
Skills USA delegation placed in the top 10 at the National SkillsUSA
Championship in Kansas City, MO, in late summer. Cristian Cruz, East
Amherst, who took first place in the state then continued on to
Nationals, was awarded a bronze medal for third place in the nation in masonry.
Five members of the Alfred State College NYS College/Post-secondary
Skills USA delegation placed in the top 10 at the National SkillsUSA
Championship in Kansas City, MO, in late summer. Cristian Cruz, East
Amherst, who took first place in the state then continued on to
Nationals, was awarded a bronze medal for third place in the nation in masonry.
The NYS delegation included nine students and four
faculty/administrators from Alfred State College (ASC). All of the
participating students had previously won the NYS competition held at Alfred State
in April.
Other Alfred State
students placing in the top 10 included Shelby Whitney, Prattsburgh (fifth
place, carpentry), Travis Clark, Alfred (fourth place, CNC milling), Paul
Murillo, Fillmore (fourth place, computer maintenance technician), and Stephen
Moshano, Sodus (seventh place, technical drafting).
This year, more than 4,500 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 250,000 students
nationwide.
Alfred State College faculty and
staff who accompanied the students to Kansas City included Craig Clark, interim
vice president for Academic Affairs; Deb Burch, instructor, Culinary Arts
Department; Jeff Stevens, assistant professor, Electrical/Electronic Service
Department; and Jim Fleischman, instructor, Automotive Trades Department.
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.