Congratulations to the nine students from the Engineering Drawing class at Oxford High School who competed at the CAD/Drafting contest at Oakland Community College’s Auburn Hills campus on March 24.
The students were selected for the competition based on their high quality work in David Okasinski’s Engineering Drawing class. Engineering Drawing is a prerequisite for the CAD (Computer Aided Design) classes.
They participated in Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced level competitions, in which Adam Heskitt placed second in the Intermediate category.
Students Ashley Kiplinger, Phil Labrash and Brad Low took part in the Beginner level. Brian Barnhart and Kevin Compau joined Heskitt in the Intermediate category, while Jon Fifield, Mike Nacy and Jon Rogers participated in the Advanced level.
Engineering Drawing students were unable to compete in the four CAD contests due to the program being cut, but Okasinski said they’ve had ‘excellent results in the past and look forward to entering next year.?
‘In the past we have taken up to one third of all awards given. For the last two years, South Lyon has dominated the competition,? he said.
Students spend all year learning the skills they will use in the competition and devote about a week of classroom time preparing for their specific category.
‘I use the competition as a way to make sure that their CAD/Engineering Drawing curriculum is aligned with college and industry standards, and use it as a gauge to see how Oxford compares to other high schools,? Okasinski said.
Engineering Drawing student Phil Labrash said the class teaches them the mechanics of drawing and basic skills.
‘The competition gave us a taste of what to expect in CAD next year,? he said.
The competition is sponsored by the Tech Prep Consortium, a liaison group that connects career related high school CAD courses in Oakland County with Oakland Community College.
CAD designers and engineers from the industry volunteer to judge the drawings and offer career advice to the participants before the awards ceremony.