Nearly 20 North Platte High School students are competing at the state level through SkillsUSA, showcasing skills in a range of career and technical fields.
“SkillsUSA is a student career and technical organization,” said welding instructor Nathaniel Foster. “It’s an organization set up for students to go and compete in different technical skills such as welding… automotive… cosmetology… and we have a lot of different students interested in it.”
This year, 19 students from North Platte are taking part in competitions across multiple areas, from skilled trades to leadership events.
In the welding lab, students have spent time preparing for the fabrication competition, where teamwork and precision are key.
“Right now we’re making a vise,” said Logan Durnell, one of the students on the fabrication team. “Once we get it all together, it will be completely able to be usable… we’re gonna try to build three of them before we go to state.”
The fabrication competition requires students to divide responsibilities and complete a project together under time constraints.
“We all have our roles and we all work together as a team,” Durnell said. “So then we all can get as much experience… and if one of us isn’t feeling the greatest or doesn’t understand fully, we all know what to do.”
Unlike some other events, fabrication takes place on-site, adding an extra layer of pressure.
“It’s a little nerve-wracking,” Durnell said. “You’re always scared of the machine messing up or something going wrong.”
Even with that uncertainty, the team is confident heading into competition.
“We definitely will be able to get it done… make it look good and make it work,” Durnell said. “We’re going for the gold.”
Students in other programs are also testing their skills in competition.
“I’m just going over all of the basics, like going over brake systems… AC systems… testing electrical,” said automotive student Trenton Schrader. “Just getting a base idea of everything that’s going on.”
For Schrader, the experience is also a chance to measure his progress and look ahead.
“I’m definitely excited,” he said. “I want to get a benchmark of my skills and how I’m doing.”
He said he hopes to continue working in the automotive field after high school, with a focus on restoration.
“I’m really into classic cars… there’s a college for automotive restoration that I’ve been looking at,” Schrader said.
Foster said there's an opportunity for national competition on the line.
“If we do well at state, we have the opportunity to go compete… at the national competition as well in Atlanta, Georgia,” he said.
As the competition begins, students are focused on representing North Platte and showcasing what they’ve learned.
“Hopefully we can go down to conference and show what we’ve been working hard at,” Foster said, “and maybe come back with some medals.”