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Lode students compete
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 Sonora High School senior Shelby Hitchman carves an apple into a bird during the Occupational Olympics at Columbia College. Amy Alonzo Rozak/Union Democrat, copyright
The competition is designed as an opportunity for students to showcase their work skills and contend against other students in the region. Students from Calaveras and Tuolumne county high schools participated in competitions in automotive technology, child development, computer business applications, computer-assisted drafting, cosmetology, digital photography, drafting, entrepreneurship, food occupations, forestry and natural resources, health occupations and welding technology. In the food occupations competition, students had to prepare either a salad or pie and were judged on its design or presentation, said Marsha Husman, Summerville High School home economics teacher. Students also learned to carve a bird out of an apple. In the welding competition, students had three hours to complete two projects, a safety test and a blueprint read, said Stan Kellogg, Sonora High School ag welding instructor. There were 24 students who competed in welding, said Mac Frost of the college’s welding technology program. “It’s going real good,” he said during the competition. There were about 25 students who competed in the automotive technology portion, said Stan Smith, Sonora High auto shop instructor. They were broken up into groups with students from different schools in each group. During 15-minute sessions, groups had to go to several stations and do part of an engine rebuild, inspect brakes and complete a check of the electrical system, Smith said. Judges were either local shop owners, mechanics or college students, Smith said. The most challenging part of the competition was diagnosing brakes, and the easiest was measuring with the micrometer, said Calaveras High School junior Sam Wylam, 16, of Valley Springs. Cosmetology participants had to comb out hair on mannequin heads and give them an elegant “up-do.” Health occupations students participated in “Health Jeopardy” and had to correctly check vital signs and perform CPR, said Sonora High senior Nicole Henderson, 17, of Sonora. The hardest part, Henderson said, was “making sure you get all the steps right in the right order.” Competitions were judged by college personnel, area educators, college students and industry professionals. Following the competition, an awards ceremony was held in Carkeet Park near the Oak Pavilion. The Sonora High choir and Summerville High jazz band performed and the Calaveras High Color Guard was present. Dave Urquhart, Summerville High principal, served as master of ceremonies and awards were presented by Sonora Union High School Superintendent Mike McCoy and Bret Harte Union High School District Superintendent Mike Chimente. Student winners in each competition were given monetary prizes or ribbons. The event was presented by Tuolumne County Office of Education, Calaveras County Office of Education and Columbia College. |
