County students to show off skills at vo-tech competition
Several Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School students from school districts throughout the county will travel to Hershey to compete in the SkillsUSA PA 53rd State Conference competition from April 15 to 17.
Two of those competing, Rachel Armour and Paige Hauserman, are Knoch High School seniors in the South Butler County School District.
They, along with Brielle Karns of First Baptist Christian School in Butler, will compete as a team in the graphic design category.
The assignment for their project is to create a bulletin board that promotes vocational-technical education and the SkillsUSA competition.
Rachel and Paige said their project is entitled “I'm Ready,” and will illustrate a vo-tech student's eagerness to move on from high school and into a trade, art or other school to learn their craft.
Both girls plan to pursue an education and career in graphic design after high school.
Paige intends to enter the production end of the field, where she hopes to create and attach designs to T-shirts. Rachel's passion is logo design, so she plans to work in advertising or a similar field.
Rachel said attending the Butler vo-tech allows students to find their niche.
“It really opened me up to realize I'm really good at this,” she said of studying graphic design at the vo-tech. “It helps you find out what you're talented in.”
Paige said the vo-tech promotes careers that don't require workers to sit at a desk all day.
“And it helps students break out of their shells because they're up and moving around,” she said.
Both girls are excited for the competition in April.
“I like seeing the final product of hard work and design,” Paige said. “We'll see how all this plays out.”
Others competing in Hershey are Butler students Logan Huf in cabinetmaking, Aaron Breitenbach in HVAC and Riley Rodgers in welding sculpture; Seneca Valley students Clay Bricker in sheet metal and Camille Bupp in photography; Roshan Nunna of Mars in information technology services; Justin Smith of Moniteau in auto technology job skill demonstration; and Meghan Schell of Slippery Rock in T-shirt design.
