By Wendi Reardon Price
Staff Writer
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — Students in the Clarkston Technology Program had what they needed for the local Skills USA competition – the blue print, the materials and the knowledge at Clarkston Junior High School, Jan. 27.
“The competition is the gateway into the season for Skills USA,” said Adam Gorring, instructor in the Clarkston Construction Tech program. “We have a local competition for all Clarkston students to get involved. It’s the students in our construction class who are showing an interest and aptitude to pursue it down the line. They sign up for Skills, get a membership and the local competition is the first competition.”
The students receive a blue print, material and build what is on the blue print in a 12-foot by 12-foot square space.

Gorring explained as they build judges are going around and scoring them on the quality of work they are doing as well as are the students working safely and keeping their area clean.
“At the end of the day who made this project to the measurements, they know the geometry. Score that with safety safety glasses on, tool belts on, they keep their work station clean and follow procedures. Whoever gets top score wins and it gets ranked from there,” he said.
In the order of placement, the students were: Austin Godfrey, Brendan Verbeke, Jon George, Aidan Provencher, Duncan Ruby, Avery Evans, Justin Walsh, Aidan Newton, Carson Strate and Brook Rausch.
Gorring shared the top three in individual move on to the regional and a team of four continues on for a total of seven going.
‘We are allowed to bring an alternate. The alternate is getting experience so they are ready for the next year,” he said.
The regional competition for this year will be held at the Carpenters and Millwrights Union of Detroit. Some of the students will compete individually and four will compete as a team. The state winners move on to the nationals in Atlanta, Georgia.
“It is more of a friendly environment as far as they all know each other,” Gorring said. “They have a great experience with it. It’s great for kids to build their skills and for new students coming into the competition to see what experiences there are out there. We bring in partners from the community of the program – local builders, local businesses, operators and individuals from carpenters to millwrights to be the judges. They are going around . The students are building their skills but also getting an opportunity to meet these people in the community in the careers they want to get into. They are networking. Skills gives them opportunity to push themselves as hard as they can to get as far as they can.”
For freshmen Avery Evans and Carson Strate is was their first Skills competition.
“I was a little nervous,” said Evans. “Once I showed up I was pretty calm. I was ready. I am here to do what I know and what I don’t know I will figure it out. This year for me was the learning aspect of it. I want to figure out what I know and learn what I don’t and grow from there. It definitely gives me something to look back on and say I could’ve worked better on this, I could have spent more time on that.”
Strate shared he was both excited and nervous going into the competition.
“For some reason I didn’t feel ready at all, but I went in thinking this would be fun,” he said. “I would get to have the experience. At the beginning I was stressed so in the future not get stressed as much and prep more for the competition.”

Evans and Strate chose to go into the Construction Technology program for different reasons.
“I thought it would be a fun opportunity to grow my skills in construction because I would like to in the future pursue a job in construction management,” Strate shared.
Evans liked the hands-on aspect of the program.
“I am not one to sit at a desk and learn,” Evans said. “I am more interested in doing with my hands and I can get some tactical learning. Even if you aren’t going into construction industry these are good things to know in life and just in general. I can frame a wall, fix a roof.”
Both shared it has been going well for them.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Evans began about the first semester. “I like the aspect of spending time with people who are interested in what I am interested in. I have made a lot of friends. I have made a lot of connections.”
She added the access to knowledge has been unmeasurable.
“I couldn’t look it up on YouTube, understand it and get this experience from people who know,” she said.
“It’s been really fun,” Strate said. “You get connections with people you wouldn’t have an opportunity to meet before.”
Gorring shared students start in ninth grade learning about safety, materials, tools and working on projects on a smaller scale. As the students progress, the instructors teach them more skills and give them bigger projects. Soon the students are in the community working on larger scaled projects like a pavilion, ice rink or a house like the recently finished Bailey House.

  Clarkston Community School, Clarkston Tech, Clarkston Technology Program