Last week, students from various schools in the tri-county area competed in the Skills USA Competition for region one. According to Kimi Gillis, Marketing Coordinator with Locklin Tech, “competitions including comprehension-based exams, as well as hands-on skill assessments, were held at Locklin Tech, Pensacola State College Main Campus, George Stone Technical Center, and Haney Technical Center in Panama City. Both high school and adult students throughout Region 1 tested knowledge and skills learned in their respective program areas in an effort to qualify for the State Competition.”
Jason Gonzalez, a 19-year-old Locklin Tech student in the Computer systems & Information Technology (IT) program competed in Skills USA along with 58 others from Locklin. As Gonzalez examined the open computer tower before him, Tyler Tiwani judged his performance,. Tiwani said he came with Global Business Solutions, Inc. “We’re testing different IT skills, hardware and software, and windows operations.”
Gonzalez’s task, Tiwani said, was to determine why a computer wasn’t starting. Tiwani said Gonzalez performed well. “He went to work checking protocols…and discovered the memory was unseated.” For the less than tech savvy, he said this meant a crucial computer component had become “jarred out of place.”
Gonzalez, who’s looking to follow his father’s footsteps in computer programming, said he first checked hard drives and made sure cables were in place. The beep code, he said, revealed the problem had to be a video or RAM (memory) problem.
According to Kimi Gillis, Locklin Tech Marketing Coordinator, students from Locklin’s technical programs such as Applied Welding Technologies, Automotive Service Technology, Computer Systems & Information Technology, Applied Cybersecurity, Commercial Foods & Culinary Arts, Electricity, Heating Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Technology, Pharmacy Tech, and Practical Nursing participated.
Gillis said, “During the two day event, competitions including comprehension-based exams, as well as hands-on skill assessments, were held at Locklin Tech, Pensacola State College Main Campus, George Stone Technical Center, and Haney Technical Center in Panama City. Both high school and adult students throughout Region 1 tested knowledge and skills learned in their respective program areas in an effort to qualify for the State Competition, which will be held April 25 to 29 in Lakeland.”
Congratulations to Gonzalez for his first-place finish in Information Technology Services. By the end of the regional competition, Locklin accumulated almost 50 awards. Gillis said, “Overall, Locklin brought home 49 medals: 29 gold, (18 adult and 11 high school students), 10 silver, (8 adults & 2 high school students), and 10 bronze, (8 adults & 2 high school students).” All first and second place winners will go on to compete in the State Skills USA Competition. Since 2011, Locklin has sent 18 students to Nationals, 7 adults and 11 high school age students, according to Gillis. Keep up with the Press Gazette to see who may come back after April a winner in Florida.Here is the full list of Region 1 winners from Locklin:
Employment Application Process 1st : Heather Bare (Secondary)
Pharmacy Tech 1st: Autumn Rogers (Secondary) 3rd: Shelby Atkinson (Post-Secondary)
Team Works 1st: Kolton Caraway, Alan Mitchem, Jorden Morris, Tyler Palmer (Secondary) 1st: Tommy Barker, William Brown, Alex Brummett, Andrew Floyd (Post-Secondary)
Commercial Baking 1st: Tina Beaver (Secondary)
Electrical Construction Wiring 1st: Alex Hamid (Secondary) 2nd: Jesse Shain-Pawlik (Secondary) 3rd: Garrett Brinkmeier (Secondary)
1st: Michael Lumley (Post-Secondary) 2nd: Austin Martin (Post-Secondary) 3rd: Joshua Franks (Post-Secondary)
Medical Terminology 1st: Lisa Chumbiriza (Post-Secondary) 3rd: Denise Martin (Post-Secondary)
Health Knowledge Bowl 1st: Brian Deily, Felicity Hall, Heather Robey, Rachel Thurman (Post-Secondary) 2nd: Lacey Lindsey, Tiffany Croom, Morgan Lundquist, Taylor Dreher (Post-Secondary)
Nurse Assisting 1st: Franicine Gipson (Post-Secondary)
Information Technology Services 1st: Jason Gonzalez (Post-Secondary)
HVACR 1st: Blake Moore (Secondary) 2nd: CJ Hill (Secondary) 3rd: Tristan Hammond (Secondary)
Job Interview 3rd: Marcia Johnson (Post-Secondary)
Practical Nursing 1st: Tamara Mathews (Post-Secondary) 3rd: Lisa Kell (Post-Secondary)
Welding Fabrication 3rd: William Lee, Michael Suggs, Shawn Swafford (Post-Secondary)
Medical Math 1st: Mathew Liveoak (Post-Secondary) 2nd: Amber Williams (Post-Secondary)
First Aid/CPR 1st: Tanisha McCray (Post-Secondary)
Automotive Service Technology 1st: Dalton Stephens (Secondary) 2nd: Donnie Graham (Post-Secondary)
Industrial Motor Control 1st: Brandon Meadows (Post-Secondary) 2nd: Cole Wilson (Post-Secondary)
Health Occupations Professional Portfolio 1st: Sarah Thomas (Post-Secondary)
Culinary Arts 1st: Denis Quarry (Secondary)
Internetworking 1st: Tamera Rosales (Post-Secondary)
Region 1 Advisor of the Year Nicole Pritchett (Pharmacy Tech Instructor)
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Locklin students’ skills shine