Iowa Lakes students make their mark at National SkillsUSA Championships

EMMETSBURG, Iowa (KTIV) – Iowa students put their technical skills to the test last month, competing against high school and college students across the nation.

Ten high school and college students represented the Iowa Lakes and Iowa Lakes Career Academy at the 2024 National SkillsUSA Championships in Atlanta, Georgia in June, competing alongside the best in the nation.

During the competition, Iowa Lakes Community College student Benjamin Nielsen won second place at the college level in Power Equipment Technology.

“This is the world’s largest skill competition, with over 6,000 competitors in 108 different areas of competition. Making it to nationals is an outstanding achievement in and of itself,” said Corey Menning, Construction Technology Assistant Professor at Iowa Lakes Community College.

• Carpentry Division (College-Level): Tate Myers (Iowa Falls, Iowa) – 6th place
• Marine Service Technology (College-Level): Brody Van’t Hull (Rock Valley, Iowa) – 5th place
• Motorcycle Service Technology (College-Level): Nicholas Grubb (Nicollet, Minn.) – 5th place
• Motorcycle Service Technology (High School): Brice Rooney (Emmetsburg, Iowa) – 7th place
• Power Equipment Technology (High School): Zachary Borchers (Graettinger, Iowa) – 9th place
• Welding Fabrication (College-Level): Jacob Haase (Burt, Iowa), Owen Kies (Spencer, Iowa), and Jalen Michaelson (Guthrie Center, Iowa) – all in 24th place
• Welding Sculpture (College-Level): Jesse Wright (Spencer, Iowa) – 16th place

The Iowa Lakes Community College said competitions like SkillsUSA are designed to help future professionals and leaders become career-ready in the workforce. The challenges are created, designed and judged by roughly 2,000 industry professionals with the goal of shaping the next generation of industry leaders.

The community college also said that the competition’s direct involvement with industry experts ensures the skills that students learn and develop are practical for future employment.

For more information on Iowa Lakes’ career and technical programs, visit iowalakes.edu.

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