More than 1,000 students from Maine schools gathered in Bangor for the annual SkillsUSA Maine Competition on March 13 and March 14. Among them was a Windham High School student, Nik Yurkevich, who won a gold medal.
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| Nik Yurkevich, a senior at Windham High School who also attends classes at Portland Arts and Technology High School won a Gold Medal in Automotive Refinishing Technology in the SkillsUSA Maine Competition in Bangor on March 14. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
SkillsUSA Maine’s State Leadership and Skills Conference hosts more than 1,000 outstanding career and technical education students – all local contest winners – to compete in 92 trade, technical and leadership fields. The contests are run with the help of industry, trade associations and labor organizations, testing competencies that are set by industry.
The SkillsUSA Championships are created and judged by industry to ensure that students are learning the real-world skills employers demand from entry-level professionals. These competitions represent some of the most highly skilled, in-demand skilled trade areas in the nation.
Yurkevich is a senior at Windham High School who also attends classes at Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS) vocational school and his win in the SkillsUSA Maine Competition was the first-ever gold medal won by a PATHS student in Automotive Refinishing Technology.
He said that he has had a passion for automotive work ever since he was a chilsd.
“My dad is a phenomenal mechanic, and I have been working with him in the garage for as long as I can remember,” he said. “He taught me much of what I know today and continues to be my motivation and inspiration.”
Only one student per school could complete per category in SkillsUSA Maine and Yurkevich won his spot in the statewide contest after an assessment by instructors from PATHS Automotive Refinishing Technology.
Competitors opened the event by demonstrating the ability to perform skills based on the task list outlined by the National Institute for Automotive Excellence (ASE) and the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF). They then had to complete four different Automotive Refinishing Technology tasks and were assessed on their skills in surface preparation, spray gun operation, paint mixing, matching and applying, solving paint applications problems, determining finish defects with an understanding of causes and cures, masking, and use of safety precautions.
Each student in the competition also had to complete a personal interview and an ASE written exam. The overall appearance of their finished products, speed, and proper safety practices were also judged.
“I worked in a group with two other people,” Yurkevich said. “There were nine other competitors for Automotive Refinishing Technology across the state of Maine. We had three groups of two competitors and one group of three, which was the group that I was a part of.”
Each group was given an automotive fender that they had to paint, a side of a car that they had to mask off, a side of a bumper that they had to prime, block and sand, and a different color that they had to tint and match it to.
They had an hour to complete each task, with the competition spanning four hours of time. After a break, competitors attended a ceremony with the top students in the 92 categories being awarded a bronze, silver, or gold medal.
“I put a great deal of work into this in hopes of getting gold,” said Yurkevich. “A lot of practice went into preparation for this competition. I have been at this vocational school for the last two years and have spent countless hours learning different techniques on how to ace my game.”
When his name was called to receive a gold medal, Yurkevich said that he was pleasantly shocked. He said that it felt very nice to get recognized for his hard work.
“PATHS has never gotten a gold medal in Automotive Refinishing Technology before,” says Yurkevich. “I was glad that I had this opportunity and was able to take it.”
Being a gold medalist for Maine Automotive Refinishing Technology, Yurkevich now has an opportunity to attend SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference, which will be held in Atlanta, Georgia in June, where he will be competing against gold medalists in Automotive Refinishing Technology from across the entire United States.
For his efforts in Bangor, Yurkevich received a trophy, some Snap-On tools, and a $5,000 scholarship to one of five selected technical institutes.
He said that he plans to go into Automotive Refinishing Technology in the future for a career.
“I enjoy it very much. I love working with my hands,” he said. “It is also a very needed trade in industry.” <
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