Unitec moves on to state competition

Students from UniTech Career Center in Bonne Terre recently competed at the SkillsUSA District competition. The pictured students were all placed in districts, with those finishing first or second qualifying for state competition. Other career schools competing in the district were from Perryville, Arcadia Valley, Cape Girardeau, and Jefferson College. The event was held at both Perryville and Cape Girardeau, with each site hosting different events.

Trenton Everhart (1st place Construction), Gage Story (2nd Place Construction), Jeff Cauley (Unitec Career Center Director), Gary Stout (1st place Automotive), Gavin Keesee (2nd Place Electrical), Lane McDowell (1st Place Electrical), Riley Baker (3rd place Culinary Arts), Derek Kauffmann (SkillsUSA Advisor), Nolan Kennon (3rd place Graphic Design), Annabell Babbitt (1st place Graphic Design).

Unitech will be sending 24 students to state with the winners going on to nationals in Atlanta, Georgia this summer. Unitech has had students participate at the national level the past two years.

Jeff Cauley, director of the Unitech Career Center, explained the process required to reach the state competition. “If there’s not a certain number of students, I think 4 or 5 competing at districts, those kids automatically get to go to state. I know for the motorcycle, he went straight to state last year, but he competed against 18 other kids and beat all of them. It’s a nice thing to be able to do that, but also these guys that get to go and try their hand at it at districts, they kind of need to see the first-hand experience of the district competition so they know what to expect at state. State is the same thing, just a little bit harder.”

Among the areas of competition at the district level are Construction, Automotive, Electrical, Culinary Arts, and Graphic Design. Additional areas of competition at state that will involve Unitech students include those at district, diesel mechanics, power sports, and nursing. SkillsUSA State will take place in Columbia, Mo. in April.

Dan Schunks is a staff writer for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at dschunks@dailyjournalonline.com.