University Communications and Marketing

City College students advance to national SkillsUSA conference

The 54th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference will be held June 25-29 in Louisville, Kentucky

University Communications and Marketing, 657-2266

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — Earlier this month, several City College students traveled to Havre to compete in the SkillsUSA State Conference at MSU Northern’s campus and have returned with top awards.

Several students finished in the top three places of the contests and were awarded medals. In the Auto Service contest, Gage Aisenbrey placed first while Aaron Pelan placed third. In the Job Interview contest, Sydney Boyce placed first, Aaron Pelan placed second, and Ashlie Gristeiner placed third.

This year’s contest featured various skills competitions that challenged students to work against the clock and each other, showing their expertise in fields like manufacturing, architecture, automotive, construction, robotics, medical, welding, and more.

In addition to the many technical skills that students are exposed to at the state conference, they are challenged to utilize their teamwork, leadership, citizenship, and character development skills as well.

Pre-conference competitions in collision repair and welding were held at City College prior to the state contest. Kyle Deines placed first, Christopher McDonnell placed second, and Maison Baldry placed third in the auto body contest. The welding contest winners were Stephanie Gable in first, Michael Doerzbacher in second, and Andrew Copeland in third.

“City College was well represented at the 2018 conference. Congratulations to all students who participated, and to award winners,” says Vern Gagnon, instructor of Automotive Technology at City College.

First place winners at the state-level contest advance to the national championships to compete for scholarships, medals, and other prizes. The 54^th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference will be held in Louisville, Kentucky on June 25-29.

More than 16,000 people are expected to participate in this year’s weeklong event, with more than 6,000 being first-place career and technical education students.

All contests are run with the help of industry, trade associations, and labor organizations, and test competencies are set by national industry standards. Leadership contests are judged on communication skills, including extemporaneous speaking and job interviews.

For more information, contact Vern Gagnon at 247-3043 or vgagnon@msubillings.edu, or Katherine Pfau, at 247-3044 or kpfau@msubillings.edu.