SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA was a success! The competition was held on Friday and Saturday, April 15-16. 17 contestants competed in the secondary level, as well as 4 students in the post-secondary level. Students were tested on their knowledge in prepress, workflow, press, bindery, production planning, and their overall knowledge of printing.
Jim Cloudman, one of the workflow judges was reached for comment. ”It was interesting to see how the students handled the challenges of the workflow competition,” explaining his surprise on how well the students did. He was one of the many judges that helped made this competition possible. Other judges included Mackenzie Thayer, Greg Wojciechowski, Tina Yahr, Brandon Martinez, Kameron James, and Logan Cashin.
Ferris State University and Graphic Arts Association alumni Amela Mujkic and James O’Gorman were spotted at the competition judging the production planning and press, respectively. They were welcomed by current students and professors, sharing stories and jokes. Mujkic also showed everyone a copy of Entertainment Weekly that included a video within the magazine, in which everyone was awestruck by the sight.
In the end, everybody was proud of themselves for making it through the competition. Though tired, the contestants gave each other a round of applause for competing and the advisors congratulated them for representing their high school and college. For the post-secondary level, Mackenzie Thayer took the gold, followed by Kyle Busse taking the silver and Josh Bunker taking the bronze. Nanette Binagatan, the fourth contestant, didn’t place, but she was glad that she had the chance to compete. Thayer will go on to compete in Nationals, which will happen June 20-25th of this year.
Not to be forgotten, the competitors and advisors gave Pat Klarecki a huge “thank you” for making the Graphic Communications competition possible. His hard work and dedication to SkillsUSA is noteworthy, and he will build on this years competition to make a better competition for next year.