Nathan Kiser (Left) and Jubal Freeman (Right) with the gold medals from the state of Georgia SkillsUSA competition. Mr. Freeman placed sixth in the nation in CNC Turning and Mr. Kiser placed tenth in the nation in Automotive Service Technology at the 2013 SkillsUSA National Championships.
Two Georgia Northwestern Technical College students that finished first in the state of Georgia in the Statewide SkillsUSA competition went on to place in the top ten on the national level at the 2013 SkillsUSA Championships held recently in Kansas City.
More than 5,600 career and technical education students – all state contest winners - competed in the hands-on competitions in more than 94 different trade, technical and leadership fields.
Contests are run with the help of industry, trade associations, and labor organizations, and test competencies are set according to industry standards.
Jubal Freeman placed sixth in the nation in Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Turning and Nathan Kiser placed tenth in the nation in Automotive Service Technology. They were both gold medalists at the Georgia SkillsUSA statewide completion held earlier this year.
“I knew Jubal would be in the top ten,” said Bart Jenkins, GNTC’s Machine Tool Technology program director and instructor. “He has a wonderful work ethic and in January he will continue his education as an engineering student at Southern Polytechnic State University.”
The CNC Turning contest assessed Jubal’s ability to write a CNC program for a part drawing and materials, determine tool offsets, set up the machine, and produce a part on a lathe.
Kiser is a student of Troy Peco, director of GNTC’s Automotive Technology program. Peco was named the Technical College System of Georgia’s (TCSG) Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year for 2013.
“Considering the caliber of student he is, I knew he was going to do well,” said Peco. “Nathan is an outstanding young man; he will succeed in any avenue he decides to take.”
The Automotive Service Technology contest was based on a task list outlined by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF).
In addition to his success in the SkillsUSA competitions, Kiser also was a semi-finalist for GNTC’s Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) competition held earlier this year. GOAL, a statewide program of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), honors excellence in academics and leadership among the state’s technical college students.
SkillsUSA is a nationwide vocational expertise competition that colleges and high schools throughout the United States compete in each year in technical, skilled, and service occupation categories. At the annual national-level SkillsUSA Championships, over 5,900 students compete in 98 occupational and leadership skill areas.
Georgia Northwestern Technical College serves Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties in Georgia with campuses located in Floyd, Gordon, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties. Approximately 22,000 people benefit from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs, making it the largest college in Northwest Georgia and the fourth largest technical college in Georgia.