Over 230 Columbia County high school students enrolled in different Career, Technical and Agricultural Education classes put their skills to the test in a district-wide competition on Saturday, Dec. 10.
Hosted at the Columbia County’s Sheriff Complex, culinary students rushed to bake and decorate cupcakes, as welding and mechanic students spent the foggy morning hard at work with the nitty gritty.
With many sponsors like ARP, Augusta Tech and Nothing Bundt Cakes, Superintendent Steven Flynt said he was thrilled to see the turnout and see students utilize their skills.
“It’s a way to engage students in their craft and what they’ve been learning. It’s an experience as well as a competition,” he said. “It kind of brings the real world to life in what they’ve been learning in the classroom.”
According to him, students are able to work alongside professionals in the various industries which allows them to obtain feedback from specialists, and make important connections with businesses that could turn into future jobs.
Flynt also said he was amazed at the extensive community effort it took to organize the event, because it brought together many businesses, the school district, the Sheriff’s Office and the Chamber of Commerce.
“We’ve got a lot of people in this community pouring into education, and the areas where their expertise are. All those together should make this a great event,” he said.
At the brief opening ceremony, Columbia County Chamber of Commerce President, Russell Lahodny, said tradesmen were becoming increasingly necessary as not many people are willing, and passionate about the important work they are tasked with to keep the country functioning.
“From our perspective, you guys are our future. We’ve got a large growing community that is always constantly in need of a workforce,” said Lahodny. “When we get down to 2030, we are going to have a shortfall of about 6 million workforce people in the United States alone, so when I say that you guys are our future – I really mean that.”
Some of the competitions included students practicing ROTC formations, driving and inspecting tractors, simulating how to de-escalate police scenarios and forming last minute lesson plans for a classroom.
As students navigated their distinct challenges in teams, many tasks centered around clear communication and cooperation.
“It was very creative and interactive. I liked working with my group,” said participating sophomore Victoria Rodriguez, who competed in the teaching pathway on behalf of Evans High School. “It prepares me for what I have to do in the classroom environment.”
Rodriguez said she is normally the leader, but taking direction from another caused her to grow and see things from her classmate’s point of view.
“I really enjoy coming out here and putting into play what we’ve been practicing year round, and this sets up an opportunity for us to prepare for state competition,” said senior Gabe Moore, who competed in the law enforcement pathway. “This is just an amazing thing … my freshman and sophomore years they didn’t have this, so it didn’t give us the opportunity to actually use our skills outside of the classroom.”
Moore said the event and CTAE classes are important because it allows for students to explore different career options, without fully committing like one would in college or technical school. He explained how his own instructor advised him on affordable and unconventional opportunities to continue his education, and meet his ultimate goal of becoming an FBI agent.
To him, CTAE has been an invaluable resource in his life and he always enjoys leading his fellow classmates in challenges.
“We’ve actually had students hired by some of the business partners right here at this event, so it’s just really incredible,” said Director of CTAE Brooks Smith.
Immediately following the event, Smith said the district and the county government discuss ways they can further expand and improve the competition for the following year. The most recent change was the addition of the culinary cupcake challenge, which Smith described as the event’s literal “icing on the cake.”
Although students often practice making different recipes, culinary instructor at Evans High School, Sabrina Morgan, said the cooking competition gave them a new outlook on creating a product that others will need to enjoy eating as well.
“It helps the students make a better connection of what it’s like to work under pressure, to work where it’s not just about you, but making the customer happy,” she said. “It’s different to know that it’s not just about whether or not you like it, but if somebody else likes it too, because that’s what it’s like in the industry.”
She also believes seeing other students’ work forces her own to feel challenged, thus encouraging them to rise to the occasion and become even better.
“The pressure of not only do I want my food to be good, but I need mine to be better than yours – because that’s what the industry is,” she said. “Right now, they are all on pins and needles to find out who won … teenage mentality is that ‘good enough is good enough,’ and then they see this and they know ‘good enough is not good enough, I need to always strive for greatness.’”
Like McDonald’s competes against Burger King or Chick-fil-A against KFC, Morgan said the industry is always about making one’s product more appealing than another’s, and the competition truly simulates that for students in a more serious manner.
Prior to the track and lawn mower driving competition judged by John Deere employees, Future Farmers of America pathway teacher at Harlem High School, Jay Murray, said he hoped his students took away how to safely operate heavy machinery in a professional manner.
“We want them to follow the book and not what they do at home. So, when they’re out on their own, they have something to refer back to if they do landscaping, or if they want to open up a shop they can do all that,” he said.
Board of Education member and representative for District 3, Judy Teasley, said she could sum up the day in one word – “awesome.”
“It’s a great example of people working together … it benefits the students. It benefits the counties. I mean, we all benefit,” she said.
She believes more people should be given the opportunity to see what students can do and will do when presented with a challenge and the resources. In the future, she hopes to see even more vendors involved to further expand the event.
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
