Lewiston High School’s Engineering Club partook in this year’s State Leadership and Skills Conference in Nampa, Idaho, from April 7-9.
Samuel Kaufman and John Clifford placed first at State in mobile robotics, qualifying them to go to the SkillsUSA Championships, their form of Nationals. John Millard, Dylan Miller, and Isaac Dover got a silver medal in engineering design, placing them in second. However, the gold medal winners of that section opted out of the Championships, qualifying their team to attend as well.
SkillsUSA Championships will take place in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, from June 23-27, with more than 6,500 state champions in attendance and more than 114 skilled and leadership competitions.
“It’s so upbeat and exciting, and they get to meet people who do the same thing they do from all over the nation,” said Dr. Terri Varnado, the engineering club adviser and pre-engineering instructor.
Only the top team from each competition per state is qualified to attend, and many colleges and companies volunteer to help build the next generation of skilled professionals.
Until the Championships, the LHS engineers are refining their projects.
“I’m most excited to improve on our project, fixing failure points from state, and hopefully see it succeed,” Dover said.
He joined the Engineering Club because of his interest in the hands-on aspect of working, as well as the different opportunities and experiences the engineering field offers.
The National Championship helps students interested in trades discover opportunities and hone their skills for the profession of their choice. It also allows students to showcase their projects and the motivation behind them.
Matthew Turner, a former LHS student who graduated in 2016, won third place at nationals in urban search and rescue robotics. Turner currently works at CCI Speer and dedicates his Tuesdays to LHS students in order to mentor them for SkillsUSA.
Turner is a constant reminder that SkillsUSA helps students make lifelong connections, said Varnado.
Varnado added that the club allows each student to grow as a person, grow their technical skills, and give back to the community.
Each year, there is a club project assigned to help students give back to their communities. Previously, students were able to build bicycles at nationals to give to underrepresented youth who would otherwise not be able to afford one.
Along with that project, all SkillsUSA juniors and seniors are required to partake in a year-long research project, according to Varnado. These students are to come up with a project, research it, design it, build it, and test it in order to then showcase it at State. This is the proper engineering design process to achieve a successful final product, said Varnado. Some LHS students in the past who have participated in SkillsUSA have even gotten patents on their work, said Varnado.
The State Leadership and Skills Conference is a CTE event for students interested in learning a skilled trade such as engineering, construction, welding, and auto tech. The competition allows students to hone their Career Technical skills, meet new peers, connect to businesses, and learn how to become professionals in their chosen field.
Subjects for the engineering aspect of the SLCE include mobile robotics, urban search and rescue robotics, and additive manufacturing (designing and 3d printing). It also includes engineering math, engineering design (research and development), prepared speech, and a job interview. These are all skills that will be necessary after high school while entering the engineering workforce, Varnado said.
