Aims Community College students earned first place five categories in an automotive collision repair and refinishing competition earlier this month at Aims’ Automotive & Technology Center at the Windsor Campus.
Aims hosted a SkillsUSA regional competition Feb. 2, with 19 students from Aims and Morgan Community College participating.
The Aims students who finished first in their category were: Kayleigh Kerr, post-secondary refinishing; Jesus Conejo secondary refinishing; Jesse Manuel, post-secondary damage appraisal; Mario Saenz, secondary damage appraisal; and Darion Cordova, post-secondary collision repair.
Danielle Wilson was second in post-secondary refinishing.
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 to strengthen the national skilled workforce, according to a news release from Aims. This year’s event marks the 11th year Aims have participated in the SkillsUSA program.
Professionals from northern Colorado and Cheyenne, Wyoming, judged the students’ work and proficiency in various aspects of automotive refinishing technology, according to the release.
SkillsUSA is also beneficial for instructors to see how students perform under pressure. Participants must complete each task in one hour.
“Being able to put them in this situation is about the closest that we can do stress level-wise other than putting them in a shop,” said Mike Hanscome, an Aims automotive instructor and advisor for the SkillsUSA team at the college. “So it shows us as far as instructors, what they retained as far as information, how well they put that retention to work and how well they think critically their way through a stressful situation.”
The top finishers in each category will compete in the Colorado State Leadership and Skills Conference on April 3-5 in Pueblo. Winners of the statewide contest advance to the national competition June 19-23 in Atlanta.
Aims Community College automotive degree programs are nationally recognized and certified in secondary and post-secondary educational systems, with the National Automotive Technicians and Education Foundation accreditation.
