April 19, 2002

Boise State Students Win Awards in Statewide Skills-USA Competition

Five professional-technical education students from the Selland College of Applied Technology at Boise State University took first place in the SkillsUSA-VICA state competition recently.

The five students, along with three runners-up and three third-place finishers from the Selland College, were honored by the university during an on-campus ceremony earlier this week.

The state champions and the competitions are: Isaiah Utter, Boise, culinary arts; Kevin D. Haro, Nampa, precision machining; Chev Campbell, Boise, computer maintenance; Jared Hanson, Challis, collision repair; and Aaron Granden, Caldwell, Internet working.

The second-place finishers are: Jodi Spencer, Nampa, computer maintenance; Stephanie Murphy, Emmett; culinary arts; and Gar Kelly, Boise, precision machining.

The third-place finishers are: Mark Whistler, Boise, computer maintenance; James Kater, Kennewick, Wash.; culinary arts; and Larry Sigfrit, Boise, precision machining.

The five state champions qualified to compete in the SkillsUSA-VICA national competition, which will be held in June in Kansas City, Mo.

SkillsUSA-VICA is an organization dedicated to providing quality education experiences in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development for students currently enrolled in professional-technical education programs. The competition provides high school and college students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in “real world” applications and to be honored for excellence. SkillsUSA-VICA serves more than 250,000 high school and college students and professional members who are enrolled in training programs in technical, skilled, and service occupations, including health occupations. SkillsUSA has more than a quarter million student members annually, organized into 13,000 chapters and 54 state and territorial associations (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands).

This year more than 500 students competed for medals in the Idaho competition.