NGTC Students Place in National SkillsUSA Competition

skills-jun-24-21-52-434Four North Georgia Technical College students, including two from the Currahee Campus in Stephens County, are national medal winners after competing at the 52nd annual SkillsUSA National Championships held in Louisville, Ky, this summer.

From the Currahee Campus, Industrial Systems Technology students Nathan Miller and Caleb Sowell competed as a team in the Robotics and Automation Technology contest and placed third winning bronze medals.

Kristen Dignen, a medical assisting student from the Blairsville campus competed in Job Skills Demonstration A and placed second winning a silver medal.

Finally, Marine Engine Technology student Mike Allen, from the Clarkesville campus, received a bronze medal for his third place finish in Marine Service Technology.

North Georgia Technical College President Dr. Mark Ivester traveled to Louisville for the competition to encourage the students and participate in the many industry-sponsored activities throughout the week.

He said this year’s students carried on the winning tradition at North Georgia Tech, adding that he believes the success this year speaks volumes about the students, faculty and staff at North Georgia Technical College.

SkillsUSA is a national career and technical student organization with chapters at high schools and colleges across the country.

Since 1967, they have hosted the national championships for public high school and college/postsecondary students enrolled in career and technical education programs.

Students begin by competing in local and state competitions leading up to a trip to the nationals where there are over 100 contests and 6,000 competitors from all 50 states and two territories.

The contests are designed by technical committees made up of representatives of labor and management in the industries and are designed to test the skills needed for a successful entry-level performance in given occupational fields.

Safety practices and procedures, an area of great concern to labor and management alike, are judged and graded and constitute a portion of a contestant’s score.