Westfield SkillsUSA silver and gold state medalists, from left, Wyatt Lee, Brady LePage, Nolan Lukasik, and Luke Faeth-Foley.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
WESTFIELD — Westfield Technical Academy students shined at the SkillsUSA Massachusetts State Leadership and Skills Conference on May 2, “bringing back some serious hardware” including two gold and two silver medals, the school announced this week.
“This was a massive event with over 2,100 district competitors from 61 CTE schools across Massachusetts, and an overall attendance of over 3,000 people, including teachers and industry partners. We are incredibly proud of our students’ hard work and dedication,” said SkillsUSA Chapter Advisor and Allied Health head instructor Maureen Baillargeon.
Winning gold and on their way to the nationals in June are Nolan Lukasik, a senior in automotive technology, for Diesel Equipment Technology, and Brady LePage, a senior in information technology, who earned gold in Internet of Things.
Advantage Truck Group hosted the Diesel Equipment Technology competition in Shrewsbury, an event that brought together the state’s top 10 diesel technology high school students to compete for top honors.
During the event, the 10 students tested their knowledge of tools, precision measurement, vehicle components and job interview skills, and competed at workstations that included tasks related to engine diagnostics, electrical systems, brakes, air systems and more.
Lukasik earned first place and a gold medal. As the winner, he will represent Massachusetts in the Diesel Equipment Technology Championship at the National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta, June 23-27.
Lukasik, who finished in second place at last year’s statewide diesel skills competition, has been working at ATG’s Westfield facility through the school’s cooperative education program and will be working full-time at ATG after graduation.
“I’m learning a lot at ATG and get to apply what I learn. I work with one of the diesel techs and help him with whatever’s needed, from oil changes and finding oil leaks to diagnostics, wiring and brakes. It’s a great place to work and I’m excited to start working there full-time,” Lukasik said.
Brady LePage, an Information Technology senior, repeated a state gold medal win in Internet of Things: Smart Home at states. This is Brady’s second time heading to the National Conference in Atlanta, after winning gold at nationals last year, the first national gold medal for Westfield Technical Academy SkillsUSA.
“I was super surprised — I came down excited to even go down on the trip. When they called the finalists, I was excited to be among them,” Brady said after returning home last year with the top spot.
He said the awards ceremony at nationals followed four days of intense competition, beginning with travel and orientation on Monday; more orientation and written exams testing their technical knowledge on Tuesday, along with opening ceremonies at the Georgia World Conference Center.
On Wednesday, the hands-on portion of the competition began. LePage was busy with hardware and cabling installations for “smart home” residential products, including all of the wiring to the home; in the middle of which he was called to a station where he had to fill out a job application, show his resume and discuss his skills during a mock interview.
Wednesday evening, everyone attended A SkillsUSA Champions Festival with several food trucks and activities in Atlanta‘s Centennial Olympic Park to celebrate their accomplishments. The evening concluded with a spectacular fireworks display, according to Baillargeon. She said during the week, the group also visited the Zoo Atlanta, the Coca-Cola Museum and the Georgia Aquarium.
During the hands-on competition for the Internet of Things on the last day of competition, LePage had to demonstrate automation, lights, doorbells, Alexa, programming, and installing televisions, speaker systems and security systems that he had wired for the residential customer. He also had to “interact” with a customer on a technology issue.
“I would say it was challenging more because of the stress of [competing against] so many people I knew were good — you had to appreciate the fact that you’re there, in the room with the best of the best, the same caliber in your field,” LePage said.
He said the judges who observed everything he did were all professionals, mostly in the IT field. “Everything you do is under the microscope. It’s not just me in a room working, but me in a room being watched.”
Asked if he had fun participating in the national competition, LePage said he had a lot of fun. “The competition was stressful but also really fun, meeting kids from other communities in Massachusetts and other states — industry professionals, too. They held an expo, and you could go around and meet people.”
LePage is currently a technician in cooperative education with the city’s community programming and television department covering graduations and other city events. He is committed to attending Worcester Polytechnical Institute in the fall, where he will be studying electrical and computer engineering for a four-year degree.
The school also celebrated second place silver medal wins at the state competition by Luke Faeth-Foley, a junior in collision technology, who snagged second place in Collision Repair and Wyatt Lee, a junior in information technology, who earned second place in Computer Programming.
Baillargeon said it was Faeth-Foley’s first year in SkillsUSA, and he wasn’t at all sure how he did in the competition. “When they announced the third place winner and it wasn’t him he kinda put his head down and then he heard his name and he was so surprised!! This was Luke’s first year in SkillsUSA so we have huge hopes for him next year,” she said.
Lee is in cooperative education as a junior for Prosensing Inc., a company that makes field testing units for weather-related satellites and other equipment, and is in his second year in SkillsUSA. WTA IT instructor Kevin Grimsley said the programming test at SkillsUSA states is one of the hardest for the competitors to compete in related to IT, Baillargeon said.
Baillargeon will be attending the national competition for the last time this year as LePage’s advisor, as she will be retiring from Westfield Technical Academy at the end of the year.
“He picked me to be his advisor as I am familiar with the schedules and facilities and keep him on track of where he needs to be — make sure everyone is eating, staying hydrated, and no stress because they are in the right place at the right time in the right clothes with the right equipment or resumes etc … just the mother hen. I really enjoy watching the students compete as we say it’s like a sporting event for your shop,” she said.
The SkillsUSA team has been doing fundraising all year for the competitions, and also received funding from the City of Westfield. However, Baillargeon said the school will still have costs, such as buying uniforms and luggage fees, so donations are still welcome. Checks may be made out to Westfield Technical Academy with SkillsUSA in the memo line, and mailed to WTA at 33 Smith Ave. or dropped off in the main office.
