OHP Students Advance to Ohio SkillsUSA Championships

BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio – Ohio Hi-Point students had a strong showing after competing at the SkillsUSA Southwest Regional competition in February.

Students competed against other students from nearly 20 other career centers in a variety of event categories from construction, diesel, cosmetology, and digital media to public speaking, leadership, and parliamentary procedure.

Micah Hermiller, a senior in the Graphic and Media Arts Academy program from Kenton High School, placed second in Advertising Design. Hermiller was required to demonstrate his skills by recreating a given advertisement/design within a specific amount of time while displaying his knowledge of industry terminology, concepts, and creative skills.

Ian Cable, a senior in the Construction Trades program from Benjamin Logan High School, placed first in the Carpentry event competition. For the competition, he was given a set of blueprints and tasked to frame the structure using appropriate building materials and components while meeting OHSA standards.

Ohio Hi-Point’s Welding Fabrication Team consisting of Thomas Carl (USV), Jason Helton (USV), Michael Hoffman (Marysville), placed third in the Welding and Fab Team Event. The students were tasked to fabricate a steel bookshelf from 3/16″ material. The shelf is removable and can be staged in three different places.

These students, in addition to advancing the state competition, received industry gear and tools to continue their careers.

The Ohio SkillsUSA Championships take place at the end of March. Students will compete with over 5,000 competitors in 100 contests in 16 career pathways for the title of best in Ohio in their respective career fields. Business and industry partners, instructors, and vendors work with the students to showcase Career and Technical Education in Ohio. SkillsUSA is the largest career technical student organization and improves the quality of America’s skilled workforce through a structured program of citizenship, leadership, employability, technical and professional skills training.