Noble, White grab gold at SkillsUSA state competition, now heading to nationals
April 3, 2014
Students Alex Noble and Kevin White grasp their fields of study well, and they
demonstrated that fact recently at the 2014 SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills
Conference and Career Expo. Both Athens Technical College students captured gold
medals in their respective categories of the state-wide competition held March 13-14
in Atlanta.
White, a Drafting Technology student, won gold in the Architectural Drafting division.
Noble, for the second year in a row, took the top award in the Electronics field. By
exhibiting their prowess and besting competitors from around the state in their areas
of expertise, the two students won the right to compete in the national SkillsUSA
conference June 23-27 in Kansas City, Missouri.
The SkillsUSA national network serves as a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America
has a skilled workforce. The organization has helped develop more than 10 million workers through active partnerships
between employers and educators.
SkillsUSA Georgia is the career and technical student organization for students enrolled in architecture, construction,
communication, and transportation (ACCT); cosmetology; and public safety pathways in Georgia's secondary schools. Both the
state and national conferences offer excellent exposure for the students, according to Tonya Trapp, program chair for Drafting
Technology at Athens Technical College.
“It helps students because employers are there and can see who wins and which students are the best in the state for certain
skills,” she said. “Those students who win at state get to go to the nationals for even greater exposure — it’s a great resume
builder.”
White, who is working on his associate degree in Drafting Technology, has excelled in the area of computer software used in
drafting, said Trapp. With a background cabinetry, White will now be able to work with architectural engineers to custom
create designs for cabinets, windows, doors, molding, and other architectural designs.
Winning the gold medal for Architectural Drafting & Design at the SkillsUSA competitions was an honor, White said.
“Placing first in my competition stirred a wave of emotions inside of me, and its meaning is that my applied skills reflect the
education that I have received here at Athens Tech,” he said. “I absolutely love my school, and I will be proud to one day say
that I am an alumnus.”
He added that with being cross trained in the applied sciences of architectural drafting and mechanical drafting and design, he
has been using both skill sets in offering freelance drafting and design. He is also working on his first patented idea.
Noble has been an exemplary student, said Dr. Ken Roberts, program chair for Electronics Technology at Athens Technical
College.
“Alex is an outstanding student who learns everything he can about furthering his education by delving into the details of the
work, which is required for an electronics technician,” Roberts said. “He became a certified electronics technician last year
when he passed his CET exam at the SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City and that is one of the highest achievements of our
profession.”
Roberts said he never doubted that his student was going to win the state competition again, and he believes that Noble has
the opportunity this year to win the national competition due to his abilities and discipline in the field of Electronics
Technology.
Noble, who last year placed fourth nationally, shares his instructor’s optimism.
“I am hoping this year, knowing what I didn’t last year, that I’ll be able to bring home the gold,” said Noble.
Also, Noble looks forward to obtaining additional knowledge and information from the event in Kansas City.
“(Winning) this (state) award means a second opportunity to have the amazing experience of nationals,” he said. “(Last year)
was an amazing learning experience that I believe everybody who loves the field in which they are studying should have.”
The national SkillsUSA conference showcases more than 6,000 of the country’s best career and technical students who attend
community colleges and high schools. The students compete against the clock and each other nearly 100 different technical,
trade, and leadership fields ranging from electronics, to medical assisting, to culinary arts.
Photo caption: Left to right, Alex Noble and Kevin White each won a gold medal in the state-level SkillsUSA competition and will go
on to vie for awards on the national level in June.
Don Nelson 706 355-5011