Six place at Cheyenne SkillsUSA competition

Six students returned from the Wyoming SkillsUSA competition in Cheyenne last month with placings from first place to sixth place in the statewide competition.

SkillsUSA Wyoming is a Career-Technical Student Organization serving students in secondary and post-secondary technical, skilled, and service occupations, including health occupations, according to the SkillsUSA Wyoming website.

There are more than 100 different contests for students in SkillsUSA to compete in from construction to welding-anything that is a career-specific field-said Scott Bokelman, sponsor and teacher for the SkillsUSA program in Saratoga.

Rather than take aptitude tests, the students come and talk to Bokelman about their interests. They have to show him that it is more than a passing interest-it is something they are considering in the future. They have to do their own research and put a lot of time into it. Tyler Hughes is a perfect example, Bokelman said.

The competition can be pretty steep since the Saratoga students are competing against all schools, not just 1A/2A schools. The medical field has several components, Bokelman said, from medical terminology to nursing. Whatever they are interested in.

"We have had three or four students who competed in cosmetology," Bokelman said. Some of those students have gone on to cosmetology school.

The program at Saratoga started just a few years ago, but students have used SkillsUSA as a stepping stone to seek a career. For example, Kennadie Love is studying cosmetology; Ryan Malone and Ryan Schutte are seeking engineering degrees.

Tyler earned a "1" ranking in First Aid-CPR. Hughes was inspired by a former teacher, Josh Sandlian, who was an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) Intermediate. Tyler said he learned a lot from Sandlian. Tyler eventually joined the Emergency Medical Service and took classes to become an EMT Basic.

This was Tyler's first time competing in SkillsUSA.

CPR and First Aid is taught in the freshmen health class, but it was a couple of years before Tyler took an interest in being an EMT.

Last year when Tyler went through the EMT class, his grade point average (GPA) at school suffered. He was spending a lot more time studying for the EMT classes.

Now that he has completed his studies in EMT, he is required to recertify annually, which takes less time and he is able to find a better balance between school, sports and being an EMT.

"I can balance it pretty well now," Tyler said.

Tyler, who is a senior, plans to pursue a career in law enforcement.

Tyler said Wyoming EMS training is not accepted anywhere else in the country and if he were to follow up an EMT career outside of Wyoming he would have to start from the ground up.

Like many young people, Tyler is anxious to leave Wyoming and see other places.

Cruz Escobedo, Veronica Lincoln and Katie Loose competed in Community Service with their Breast Cancer Walk presentation. The team earned a "2" ranking in Community Service.

The team lost to a Cheyenne team and had a few challenges with equipment Cruz said. "We were also a little nervous." Since the competition, the team has had plenty of practice presenting as Thursday the team traveled to Rawlins, Baggs, Hanna and Encampment to get more people involved in their cancer walk.

Cruz said she has learned how the community gets behind a project like the cancer walk. For her, it has been exciting seeing the community come forward and get involved by walking, donating and volunteering. This is Cruz's third year in the cancer walk and she has seen it grow over the years. Cruz said she believes the program is successful because people are willing to put in the time to support the event and to do what needs to be done.

Volunteers just don't include the students, it includes members of the community and groups like the Saratoga Lions Club. Bokelman, the USASkills sponsor, is friends with Tim Lamprecht, owner of Valley Foods and a member of the Saratoga Lions Club. Lamprecht's has been instrumental in getting the word out to other business people in the community who have stepped forward to help.

Last year, teams were created in support of locals who had cancer – Team Kirsten, Team Michelle, Team Diana and Team Burt to name a few. Friends and family ordered their shirts early enough for the Fourth of July event. The cancer walk team has used this additional support in their presentation to increase involvement from other members of the community and encourage them to support their family and friends.

For Cruz, the easiest part is the day of the event; the hardest part is all the planning and preparation before the event.

For Veronica, getting involved in the Breast Cancer Walk was personal – her grandmother had it, which increases the chances of her or her sister getting it. "My grandma had a really tough time and so does my family, so I am doing it for them, mostly."

Veronica enjoys printing the t-shirts in preparation for the cancer walk. "Our designs are really cool and we make them ourselves," Veronica said.

Getting up at 6:30 in the morning on the day of event is her least favorite part.

For Veronica, the hardest part is getting sponsors and getting them on board to support the cancer walk. The easiest part for her is the preparation, working on the vinyl and getting everything ready for the walk.

The girls don't use only class time to work on the project. It takes months to plan and prepare for the cancer walk and a lot of time volunteering outside of the classroom, including the summer months leading up to the walk.

Braxton Schwartzkopf earned a "5" ranking in customer service. Schwartzkopf was put to the test as a customer service representative in a tire store and had to work with several unhappy customers.

Braxton said he used common sense to resolve the problems of customers who were upset. Before the competition, Braxton was given a sheet to study the tires and learn the quality of the tires.

Hales Soles placed sixth in photography at the state SkillsUSA competition. Haley moved to Saratoga the year before her sixth grade year. Her interest in photography began in 4H and has progressed from there.

In the photography competition, Haley had to use a camera and a laptop – take a photo and come up with a theme. Haley decided to use the hotel she was staying in and use the photo to make an advertisement.

She also submitted two photographs to be judged. She is allowed to edit the photos, but in most cases, Haley prefers not to edit her photographs for competition.

Haley also had to show her versatility with a camera by taking candid photos and actions photos.

Haley said she likes photography because "You can express what you're thinking and you don't have a limit."