Three students from Westfield Technical Academy, the school’s most ever, earned spots in the SkillsUSA national competition on June 19-24 in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta by winning gold at the state competition. All three scored in the top 10 in their fields in Atlanta.
Caprice Allen of Westfield brought home the bronze medal in basic health care. She also received an industry credential skill point certificate. She is an allied health graduate and has been accepted into American International College’s nursing program this fall.
Allen, who is employed as a home health aide by O’Connell Care at Home, said she felt well prepared for the basic health care competition by her studies at WTA and by her participation in the Massachusetts SkillsUSA competition, which she said is probably harder than the nationals.
“Not only have I been learning about that for four years, but I also work in health care,” Allen said. She said in the national test there were 10 health care stations, and she was quizzed on how well rounded she was not only in the physical skills, but in medical math, anatomy and interview skills.
She said SkillsUSA judges tried to trick the students, for example by giving them walkers with the legs set at different heights. She said not all of the students picked up on that.
“If you’re well-rounded, you’ll do pretty well in the test,” Allen said, adding that everything that she encountered at nationals had been covered in the allied health care program at WTA, which she said goes beyond passing the certified nurse assistant examination. She said while she is pursuing nursing, other classmates of hers are going into dentistry, veterinary medicine and other fields.
“They prepare you for anything you could want to do after,” she said, singling out department head Maureen Baillargeon, who coordinates SkillsUSA and accompanied the students to Atlanta along with allied health teacher Angel Arenas Nieves. “One of the main reasons I won was her,” Allen said about Baillargeon.
Jacob Cooper of Blandford, an automotive service technology graduate, was on his second trip to nationals, and finished fifth in the nation for diesel equipment technology. He currently works full-time as a diesel technician for Advantage Truck Group in Westfield, and could not be reached for a comment about the competition.
Baillargeon said Cooper’s employer from Advantage Truck Group was there to witness his hard work and was extremely pleased with his performance.
Aidan Layng finished sixth in the nation in cabinetmaking, a newly certified Chapter 74 program at WTA. Layng also earned an industry credential skill point certificate.
Layng, who is going to be a senior at WTA in the fall, has a cooperative education placement at Wright Architectural Millwork in Northampton. He said cabinetmaking focuses more on finish carpentry and furniture making skills rather than construction skills, describing it as “refined, detailed inside type of work.”
Layng said his test at nationals was a little different than the others, as he had to build a cabinet from plans he received the day before the test, make a cut list, and complete it in six and a half hours.
“It was challenging, but I was completely prepared,” Layng said, crediting WTA and his instructor Wayne Bush. “They’ve helped me so much — they prepared me for my career and this competition,” he said, adding that he plans to compete again next year.
Baillargeon said all of the students started with an orientation about what their contests would entail, and they had to take an industry standard test for their knowledge in the subject matter. She said Layng had the longest orientation, including a walk through 12 tool stations to assure everyone that he knew how to safely operate the tools before the blueprints were provided. She said cutting a wrong board could lead one to not being able to progress further in the competition.
“Karen Ward, the executive director of SkillsUSA Massachusetts, made it a point to find Aidan Layng and let him know how proud she was of him and how talented he is. Her husband, Christopher Ward, is the event manager at the state competition level for the cabinetmaking contest, and he was very impressed with his attention to detail,” Baillargeon said.
The students stayed in the Omni Hotel attached to the CNN building. The food court from the CNN building was also attached to State Farm Arena, where the opening ceremony and the awards ceremony took place. The Georgia World Convention Center had several levels and the buildings were all interconnected, although each student competed in a different building.
“The average of walking each day was well over 3-5 miles,” Baillargeon said.
The last day before the award ceremony, the students were able to enjoy the Georgia Aquarium. Allen said it’s the largest aquarium in the world, and the only one in the United States that has whale sharks.
What Allen found more daunting, however, was the city of Atlanta.
“That was my first trip to Atlanta. The city was dangerous, [though] I did feel comfortable and safe in the SkillsUSA area,” she said, adding that her mother, and Layng’s father, both made the trip to watch them compete, “I am so grateful that I really got to travel. It was all in all, really fun. I did have a really good time,” Allen said.
Layng also said Atlanta was very different from Westfield. “It was a very fun city to travel to — a lot of attractions to fill our free time with. It wasn’t quite what any of us were used to,” he said.
The school had to raise $13,000 for the trip from donations, and through a Double Fund popcorn fundraiser that earned $773.
“Many thanks to the friends and families that funded this trip through our online fundraiser, and to the WTA parent volunteer organization for their generous donation of $2,000. Without the support of our community, none of this is possible,” said a school administrator, who also thanked the SkillsUSA advisors. “Maureen Baillargeon and Angel Arenas Nieves worked hard behind the scenes to make sure that the trip and event went as smoothly as possible.”
“The conference was truly remarkable and mesmerizing to watch the best of the best compete in their trade and to meet competitors across the nation,” Nieves said.
https://www.thereminder.com/localnews/westfield/westfield-tech-students-in-top-10s-at-skillsusa-na/