At a glance
Jared Coffin (Lakewood, NY) earned a bronze medal to lead a group of six Alfred State College students that competed at the SkillsUSA National Championships in Atlanta, GA.
Jared Coffin (Lakewood, NY) earned a bronze medal to lead a group of six Alfred State College students that competed at the SkillsUSA National Championships in Atlanta, GA. All six members of the team had previously won their competition at the NYS SkillsUSA competition held on the Wellsville campus in April.
Coffin finished third in the nation in the Automotive Service Technology competition. Lucas Miranda (East Amherst, NY) finished 7th in masonry and Alexander Bieber (Lancaster, NY – Electrical Construction Wiring), Jared George (Portville, NY – Welding), Larry Knoll (Darien Center, NY - Autobody), and Sean Malenfant (Averill Park, NY - Carpentry) competed at the event.
More than 6,000 students from around the country competed in 110 different trade, technical, and leadership fields. Students work against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations like electronics, automated manufacturing technology, 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.
Students compete to national standards with other students from all fifty states. The competitions are set up and judged by industry representatives. Over $36 million dollars is donated in time and equipment to the weeklong event.
The six students were joined on the trip by Dr. Craig Clark, Interim Provost, and Vice President of Economic Development, Jeffrey Stevens, Dean of the School of Applied Technology, CJ Tremper, Autobody instructor, and Donald Tinder, Carpentry instructor. Alfred State College President Dr. Steven Mauro also made the trip to support the students.
About SkillsUSA: SkillsUSA is a vital solution to the growing U.S. skills gap. This non- profit partnership of students, instructors and industry ensures America has the skilled workforce it needs to stay competitive. Founded in 1965 and endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education, the association serves more the 340,000-member students and instructors each year in middle schools, high schools, and colleges. This diverse talent pipeline covers 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, the majority STEM-related. More than 650 corporations, trade associations, businesses and labor unions actively support SkillsUSA at the national level. SkillsUSA programs are integrated into career and technical education through a framework of personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics. Local, state, and national championships designed and judged by industry, set relevant standards for career and technical education, and provide needed recognition to its students. SkillsUSA also offers technical skill assessments and other workplace credentials. For more information, go to www.SkillsUSA.org.
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.