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Apr 04, 2025

Alexandria College hosts state SkillsUSA competition - Alexandria Echo Press | News, weather and sports from Alexandria, Minnesota

ALEXANDRIA — Students of Alexandria College had a chance to put the skills they're learning to practical use Friday, March 28. That's because Friday was the day of the annual state SkillsUSA

ALEXANDRIA — Students of Alexandria College had a chance to put the skills they're learning to practical use Friday, March 28.

That's because Friday was the day of the annual state SkillsUSA competition.

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Students competed in the following categories:

First-place winners of these competitions will advance to nationals, which will take place in Atlanta in June.

Alexandria College acted as a host site for these competitions, more of which will be held in the Twin Cities this weekend, said SkillsUSA advisor Sherri Randt.

"The goal would be to have them all down in the Twin Cities next weekend, but unfortunately it's not, because some of our programs are so unique that there are no other schools that really have this type of training," Randt said.

Aaron Telander judged the skills competition for precision machining.

"They're running a manual lead mill, they're running a manual lathe, making a part," Telander said. "We'll get an hour on the mills, an hour on the lathes, and then switch. I have two groups going.

"(We) don't let them talk or anything in between. We try to keep everything kind of a secret with what they're going to actually be making, so they can't think about it too much," he said.

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Kyle Nelson ran a mock interview station during the competition.

"I just do a mock interview, and grade them on how they perform through that," Nelson said. "So, I look at the resume, appearance, the response, body language, eye contact, things like that, and give them a score."

Nelson participated in SkillsUSA when he was a student, as well.

"I won one state (title) and then I went on to nationals in motorcycle mechanics," he said.

Nelson said the competition is a good experience for the students because it gives them a chance to practice the skills they've been learning in school.

"This whole skills competition is a little hidden gem," he said.

For more information about SkillsUSA, visit www.alextech.edu/college-services/student-life/organizations/skillsusa .

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