CK, Oly students have skills to pay bills

Central Kitsap School District students took home more medals than ever before at this year’s Washington State SkillsUSA Skills and Leadership Conference April 9-11 in Yakima.

SkillsUSA is a competition for students in Career Technical Education (CTE) classes to present and test their abilities.

The conference featured high school students from throughout the state competing in more than 55 competitive areas. Students from Olympic High School (OHS) and Central Kitsap High School (CKHS) worked hard all year to get prepared for the competition.

Bronze medal winners from CKHS include: Jordan Morrison, for Extemporaneous Speech; Jeff McCrea, Technical Computer Applications; Lucas Eschmeyer and Tyler Allen, 3D Imaging and Animation.

OHS student Austin Brown also won a bronze medal in Related Technical Math.

Silver medal winners from CKHS are Matt Lough, Jordan Morrison and Camden Podesta, Engineering Design; Jason Adamson, Programming; Dylan Bonsell, Brandon Burt, Eleanor Holland, Elizabeth O’Gara, Brandon Zaffiro and George Westfall (as an alternate) for the Quiz Bowl; and Katherine McLaughlin, Valerie Mellon, Katelynn Ward-Koenen and George Westfall, Broadcast News Production.

Two students from OHS also received silver medals. Troy Haynes and Philips Lacanlale won for 3D Imaging and Animation.

Gold medalists, who are now invited to attend and compete in the 45th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC) June 21-26 in Kansas City, Mo., include CKHS students George Westfall, Extemporaneous Speech; Dylan Bonsell, Internetworking; Jason Adamson, Related Technical Math; Ellie Holland, Technical Computer Applications; and Brandon Burt and Elizabeth O’Gara, 3D Imaging and Animation.

OHS students Austin Brown, Trevor Carrasco and Sean Desmond also won gold in the Engineering Design category for their design of a mounting bracket for computer monitors.

“Our teacher, Mr. Brown, needed to get some monitors out of the way so people could work,” Austin Brown said. “So we designed the solution.”

The students are looking forward to the national competition, but finding the funds to get there has been a real challenge.

“We have done everything from washing cars to building fire pits,” said Jim Adamson, CKHS CTE instructor. “These guys still need some help though.”

Contact Central Kitsap Reporter Staff writer Steven DeDual at sdedual@centralkitsapreporter.com or (360) 308-9161.

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