They got the skills

Four area students have proven that when it comes to their trades, they've got the skills.

Ashleigh Anderson, Logan Farley, Richard Huber and Ransom Robertson earned accolades at the 57th annual SkillsUSA National Championships, held virtually in late June.

Anderson, North Idaho College student and Hayden resident, won the gold medal in automotive refinishing technology. She competed online from the Parker Technical Education Center in Rathdrum, where NIC’s auto body and paint technology program is offered.

Anderson qualified for the national competition after winning the Idaho SkillsUSA Championship in April. The auto refinishing competition included a live interview, resume, technical assessment test and live application of base coat and clear coat paint refinish products.

"Ashleigh peaked at the right time for this event,” NIC collision repair instructor Cal DeHaas said in a Wednesday press release. "She has a way of channeling her nervous energy into incredible focus. She was on her A game on game day, for sure. I’m so proud of her."

Another NIC student, Farley, of Spirit Lake, took third place and won the bronze medal in the collision repair championship competition.

“What makes this special is that at NIC we are a nine-month program, which is pretty rare. Most auto body programs take students two years to complete,” DeHaas said. "To perform this well at the national level speaks volumes for our program.”

Farley qualified for nationals after winning the Idaho SkillsUSA championship in April. The collision repair competition included a live interview, resume, technical assessment test, small dent repair, plastic repair, structural analysis and welding.

Logan benefited from two years of training in the collision repair program with Andy Rogge at the Kootenai Technical Education Campus, which is next to the NIC Parker Technical Education Center, DeHaas said.

"He competed in high school and again in college, so I think he was less nervous," he said. "He performed consistently in each and every event.”

Prior to this year’s competition, NIC auto body and paint program students’ highest finishes in the SkillsUSA nationals were in 2013, when NIC students took second and eighth place.

“This was a truly historic day for our students," DeHaas said.

KTEC's Huber was a finalist for automotive refinishing technology.

Robertson, also from KTEC, was a finalist for automotive refinishing technology.

Forty high school and college-level career and technical education students from across Idaho qualified for the 2021 SkillsUSA National Championships. Of the qualifiers, 17 students finished in the top nine for their competition and eight students placed in the top three.

All contests were run by SkillsUSA, a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 to strengthen America’s skilled workforce.

Driven by employer demand, SkillsUSA helps students develop personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics. Statewide, SkillsUSA Idaho has about 900 student members representing 25 chapters. Members demonstrate expertise and professionalism while participating throughout the year in various leadership and competitive conferences.

"I’m really proud of how our advisers and students stuck with it through a challenging year while continuing Idaho’s legacy of leadership at the national level,” state director for SkillsUSA Idaho Chet Andes said.