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by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Nathan Olson, a young man from Sartell, placed first in the High School Automotive Service Technology contest at state level, then went on to national competition recently where he placed eighth among 48 competitors.
The name of the competition was SkillsUSA, automotive service technology category. It was part of the SkillsUSA 51st annual National Leadership Skills Conference, which is a showcase for career and technical-education students. During the week, more than 6,000 students, all of them winners from their states, competed hands-on in 100 trade, technical and leadership fields.
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Olson’s teacher is Byron Byker, who is teaching the technology course for both Sartell and Apollo students at Apollo High School. Byker accompanied Olson on his week-long trip to Louisville, Ken.
Olson is a 2015 graduate of Sartell High School and will attend St. Cloud Technical College, starting this fall, where he is enrolled in the medium/heavy truck technician course. During his senior year, he took the automotives class, which is a college-credit course taught at Apollo. That was the class that led him to a first-place win in the state competition, propelling him to his spot in the national competition in Louisville.
In his category of national competition, Olson had to demonstrate in front of keen-eyed judges his ability to perform jobs and skills based on a task list devised by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence and the National Automotive Technicians’ Education Foundation. At the contest, work stations consisted of on-vehicle tasks, simulations, bench and component testing and a written test. The 48 competitors were judged on technical competency, accuracy, quality, safety and ability to follow directions. There were 13 skill stations, including one for the written test.
Other categories at the SkillsUSA competition were electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts. All contests are run with help of industry, trade associations and test standards determined by the industries/professions.
SkillsUSA is a national partnership of students, teachers and industry whose goal is to help create a skilled workforce for America. SkillsUSA chapters help students who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations. The organization has more than 300,000 students and teachers as members.
A judge keeps an eagle-eye on Nathan Olson as he performs an auto-engine parts check at the national automotives contest in Louisville, Ken. Olson, of Sartell, fared extremely well in the competition.
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