CTE Students Earn Top SkillsUSA Awards

Students in GCISD’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program competed at the Texas SkillsUSA competition March 30-April 2 and returned home with top awards, including the Best in Show Award.

First place in Engineering for their Solar Golf Cart – Aiden Waldo, Sean Mahon, Richard Zimmerman, and Adam Takacs placed first in their engineering category earning them the State Superior Award.

First Place in Aerospace for their Rocket Design – Gabriella Estrada, Grant Duong, Ify Obinabo, and Srot Jha

Best in Show for their Drone – Sofiya Malyshchak and Hailey Warzecha

Additionally, Sofiya Malyshchak and Hailey Warzecha took the Best in Show Award in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) cluster. That award encompasses all of the STEM fields, including aerospace, robotics and architecture, among others.

For the solar cart, the team designed a concept golf cart that utilized solar panels that could sustain all-day charge.

The rocket team designed a rocket that will be tested April 27 in Jacksboro. The design was judged as first place and at the upcoming test launch the rocket will have to go one mile in the air with a one pound payload.

The drone event is only in its second year. GHS engineering teacher Shon Slatton described the complicated process.

“You start with a skeleton and have to wire, program and build the drone, and then add three-dimension (3D) printed parts, like the leg supports and landing supports,” he said. “Then it has to do different tasks like picking up and releasing a product.”

That in itself didn’t earn the drone team the win. They also were judged on their engineering notebooks.

“Their notebook represents a timeline and different strategies and different designs,” Slatton shared.

While the competition ended at the state level, Slatton said he was very proud of all of them for the “daunting task of their designs,” which they started in September.

“I hope this competition continues to inspire that inner drive to continue to stay motivated to design, engineer and always keep improving.”

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. Learn more on the Texas SkillsUSA website.