SkillsUSA
BUTLER TWP — Three Butler County Vocational Technical School seniors were among the best in the state at a recent technical skills competition.
Paul Blair III, a home-schooler from Center Township, placed first in automotive service technology at the SkillsUSA state competition held last week in Hershey.
Angelo Rondinelli, who goes to Karns City High School, placed first in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration, and Austin McGuire, also a student at Karns City, placed third in plumbing. Eleven vo-tech students competed after advancing from a District 10 event earlier in the school year.
Blair and Rondinelli will travel to Louisville, Ky., in June to compete in the national competition.
Rondinelli said for the HVAC competition, participants bring meters, hand tools and safety equipment and have to quickly diagnose problems with copper tubing, gas furnaces and air conditioning units.
Similarly, the auto repair competition includes quickly identifying and correcting problems with an engine or brake system.
All three students said that they have had a positive experience studying at vo-tech for the past two years and plan to use the skills they have acquired to move into a career or a two-year training program after graduating.
Rondinelli said he is applying for a program with West Penn Power to become a substation electrician. If accepted, he would attend Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Johnstown and participate in a power company hands-on training program for two years.
McGuire is also angling for a job with West Penn Power as a lineman, which would include two years of training at Westmoreland County Community College.
Both said their application processes have included rigorous physical testing including demonstrating climbing up and down utility poles for McGuire and doing repetitions on a strength training machine for Rondinelli.
The three students said they have learned a lot at the vo-tech school and hope that other high school students realize that the school presents a great opportunity.
Rondinelli said many students are pressured into going to a four-year college, but that isn't necessarily the right path for everyone.
“My parents didn't push college, but they did encourage education and this is another way to get education,” he said.
Blair, who said he and his family have an affinity for Toyotas, said he hopes to land a job as a mechanic at a nearby Toyota dealership.
He said he has been working on cars for most of his life, though the vo-tech program has helped him get ready to make it a full-time job.
The National Leadership and Skills Conference June 19 to 23 will include about 6,000 students who won state contests participating in 100 different trade, technical and leadership competitions according to the SkillsUSA website.
