CULLMAN, Ala. – Cullman Area Technology Academy Carpentry students Dylan Trowbridge, Yovani Ramirez and Nathan Coggins won the State Chapter Display competition at the SkillsUSA State championship in April and are now headed to the national championship in Atlanta from June 20-24.
The Chapter Display competition required students to build a three-dimensional display that articulates a national annual theme established by SkillsUSA. The members of the chapter build the display and three students present information about the display during a presentation and interview with judges.
Ramirez, with a different team originally, began the project pre-Covid and had to put it on hold for the duration of the pandemic. The team came up with the idea for a display that could be turned interactively around like a carousel. The new team of Ramirez, Trowbridge and Coggins returned to the project and finished the display for the state competition which showcases their technical school and was designed to be used at career fairs, open houses and career caravans. It features a series of repurposed door panels that rotate around a central stem, with the panels outlining various programs at CATA, along with information about SkillsUSA.
Instructor Mike Burkett stated, “When another program, Collision Repair, gave us the door panels, it all came together and the theme of ‘Open the door…to your future’ was born. This project began pre-Covid-19, and not to be denied, they revived it and finished it and now, will represent Alabama SkillsUSA in Atlanta,” continued Burkett.
The overall theme of the SkillsUSA competition for the 2021-2022 school year was “SkillsUSA: United as One.” The team exemplified the theme by showing tremendous resolve for not giving up on the creative project which allowed them to showcase the technical programs at CATA.
Trowbridge and Ramirez are recent graduates of Fairview High School and Coggins attends West Point High School. Trowbridge and Ramirez both won $2000 scholarships as a result of their championship win and are thinking about attending Wallace State part time in the Construction Management program.
Burkett quoted Bear Bryant, saying, “’I don’t need 5-star players, I just need good athletes with lots of heart and we will be winners.’ These are all good students with lots of heart and they are all winners as well.”
The SkillsUSA 58th Annual National Leadership and Skills Conference hosts the nation’s top career and technical education students. More than 12,000 people including students, teachers and business partners will participate in the weeklong event.
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